Meals on wheels is a vital service for thousands of elderly and disabled people in Sussex.

It provides them with a guaranteed hot meal once a day in the comfort of their own homes.

There is little doubt these cheap and nutritious meals enable many people to remain at home rather than go into care.

Volunteers are largely responsible for providing this service, which takes a lot of time and trouble to organise.

They provide more than just hot food. Often they do small errands and also check people are all right.

So it is of real concern that a WRVS team in Haywards Heath is threatened with closure because its base at Norman Hay Hall is to be demolished for flats. It has been there for 50 years and helped pay for the hall.

This site is owned by West Sussex Health and Social Care NHS Trust, which has to sell the land to fund the rebuilding of Colwood and Larchwood hospitals.

The trust must do its utmost to find an alternative site for the WRVS and is under a moral obligation to do so.

If it fails, many elderly people will suffer and the trust will be among those who have to deal with the problems.