Bridport town mayor Maggie Ray has called for the re-establishing of the Hughes Unit at Bridport Community Hospital.

Speaking at an event at the newly launched Bridport Mental Health Drop-in Centre to mark World Mental Health Day, Mayor Ray said that she hoped a solution could be found to avoid those illnesses travelling so far afield.

“We need to reopen the Hughes Unit at Bridport Community Hospital. At the moment people with mental health illnesses have to travel some distance which can mean taking public transport, which can be very difficult for some,” she said.

Handing out copies of donated books to service users at the Bridport centre, she praised the efforts of the organisers, volunteers and service users in providing such a vital resource to the local community.

“The centre is such a friendly place to be,” she added.

Roz Copson, a service user, and driving force behind the Mental Health Drop-in Centre said they had seen a ‘terrific’ response from the local community in terms of donations of games, books, and even brand new mugs.

“We also had someone come in this week and enquire about becoming a volunteer at the centre, and we have really been astounded by the reaction.”

“The whole ethos of mental health these days is that anyone can have it, it could be anxiety or stress. It is a very important step to have a place like this for people who were just wandering our streets,” she added.

The Bridport centre is currently open on Thursdays from 10am to 3pm, which will be expanded to four days a week when centre manager Joanne Seward takes up her post at the end of the month.

Meanwhile centre organisers said they were keen to stress that community activities run by ‘Rethink’ in the same premises on Downes Street are continuing as before.