A CHARITY that helps stroke victims in Oxfordshire get their lives and dignity back after a stroke is set to have its funding cut by Oxfordshire County Council.

More than £16,000 of annual funding to the Stroke Association could be cut when the council sets its budget tomorrow, reducing its services in the county by a third.

Volunteers help about 90 survivors a year. Judy Walker, director of Life After Stroke services in the South, said: “If money is cut, about 36 people a year won’t get a service.

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“Clearly we know the budget and the pressure on the county council is extreme at the moment, but we were very, very surprised.”

A large number of people who suffer strokes are left with aphasia, which affects the production or understanding of speech and the ability to read or write.

Once people are released from hospital, those who are identified as needing extra help are passed on to the Stroke Association by doctors.

Ms Walker added: “It’s not just those people affected by the stroke, it’s also family and friends who suffer, and they need help and emotional support.”

For 21-year-old Thomas Gray, a business management student from Witney whose mother Sarah had a stroke three years ago, not having the service would be unthinkable.

In February 2012 Mrs Gray suffered a brain haemorrhage, leading to a major bleed in the frontal lobe and a very large stroke.

Mr Gray was at Kingham Hill School at the time and was called straight to the John Radcliffe Hospital, where the family decided to go ahead with an operation despite the risks. His mother was formerly a drama, Religious Education and English teacher but can no longer read or write.

He said the Stroke Association helped the family “all the way” with activities, rehabilitation and communication help, giving her an iPad to help recall words.

He added: “It’s the best thing ever. Most stroke suffers have to fight to get their dignity back and that’s what the carers gave. The idea of cutting this back is ludicrous and should not even be on the cards.”

Following the family’s ordeal, Mr Gray has set up a not-for-profit organisation, Never Gray, which raises awareness of aphasia and offers support to people in the UK.

His mother, now 51, said: “Especially in the early days when I first came out of hospital, the Stroke Association helped me go out and do all the essential things.

“I wouldn’t have been able to live such an independent life without them. If you don’t have that support it’s a much bigger thing than anyone can imagine.”

The county council cabinet member for adult social care, Judith Heathcoat, said: “We are in the process of saving £290m from 2010 to 2018 and believe we may have to save as much as £70m on top of that.

“We are having to make some difficult decisions which we understand will be unpopular.”