More than 1,000 people use the Bridge Community Education Centre in Brighton to learn everything from belly-dancing to basic literacy.

Almost nine years on, funding has run dry and the centre faces an uncertain future.

Rachel Wareing reports.

It was homesickness which brought Fiona Gamblin-Holmes back to Britain after four years in Barbados so she was surprised to find it hard to settle in.

She said: "I felt like an alien in my own country.

"When my husband Len had asked me where I wanted to live I thought of Sussex.

But I didn't know anyone here and I felt isolated. I needed to be among people."

The 51-year-old, who lives in Portslade, heard about the Bridge and decided to visit. She said: "There's just something about this place and the people are very welcoming."

Fiona is now a volunteer support worker for people with learning disabilities at the centre and has revitalised both her social life and her CV with help from the weekly Job Club.

Holly, 25, (not her real name) has a similar experience of the centre. A single mother with a four-year-old son, she also found it difficult to settle in Brighton when she first arrived a year ago.

She said: "People are cliquey where I live and I became so depressed I didn't want to leave the house. I had a leaflet about the centre but had always been too scared to come down.

"I went along to Working Links, which supports people trying to get back into work. It's in the same building as the Bridge so I popped in."

Holly has now passed her first GCSE and landed a volunteering job as a training and learning support worker - something she would never have dreamt of before attending the Bridge.

She said: "In the past I've always had bad jobs in factories but now I can see its possible for me to do something I enjoy."

The centre was set up in 1999 with funding from eb4U, now known as East Brighton New Deal for Communities Partnership, part of Labour's £2 billion regeneration programme for deprived neighbourhoods.

A total of £47 million was set aside for a range of community-orientated projects in the Moulsecoomb, Saunders Park, Bates Estate and Whitehawk areas.

Although initially funding rules meant facilties were only available to those living in the east of the city, the centre is now open to all. Students from as far afield as Burgess Hill visit the centre, which is based in the grounds of Falmer High School in Lucraft Road, Brighton.

All this could end in April, however, when the funding dries up.

The Bridge will close unless its staff can find enough cash to cover the centre's annual £250,000 running costs.

The centre makes around £40,000 each year through various enterprises.

Rooms are rented out, the café runs an outside catering service and the creche makes a profit. But it is not enough.

Staff are currently making grant applications to bodies, including the European Social Fund and the Learning and Skills Council, but until these are secured the centre's future is uncertain.

It's a thought that leaves Amanda Speed filled with despair.

She said: "If the centre didn't exist I would be at home wallowing in self-pity."

PICTURE: TERRY APPLIN TA131107D-8 The mother-of-three, from Tenantry Road, Bevendean, had breast cancer diagnosed seven years ago at the age of 36. Her treatment brought on an early menopause and she found herself sliding into depression.

She enrolled on an art course at the centre and went on to learn pottery, tai chi and body acupuncture.

Then, to her amazement, she discovered she was pregnant.

She said: "When I had my cancer treatment I was told my ovaries would die. My body was returning to normal with the tai chi and I was getting stronger."

Since her daughter was born 20 months ago she has found the creche an invaluable facility while attending classes. She now has a certificate in Indian head massage, which will enable her to work from home.

Diane Eldridge, from Rodmell Avenue in Saltdean, has also seen her life change since coming to the Bridge.

She said: "They care about you here.

That's what this place is about."

Her son, six-year-old Elliot, attends piano lessons and Diane has taken courses in keep-fit, Spanish and dress-making.

All courses at the Bridge are low-cost and many students would find it impossible to afford the courses elsewhere. A ten-week beginner's course in French costs just £5 for those on a low income.

The informal atmosphere is also a crucial part of its success.

Diane said: "It's not like a college. Here we can suggest our own ideas for classes.

If the centre closed there will be a lot of people with nothing to do."