Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson, has said he cannot help a charity for the blind and partially sighted.

Oxfordshire Association for the Blind client Mary Walton wrote to Sir Richard, who lives in Kidlington, to ask if he could provide temporary office space in Oxford. The charity has to move out of its base at the Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, in Abingdon Road, Oxford, in April or May.

Negotiations are taking place to buy social services-owned land in Kidlington for a purpose-built office. Meanwhile, the charity is seeking 2,000 to 3,000sq ft of temporary space.

Mrs Walton, 84, said she received a letter from Sir Richard on Tuesday. "He said he was sorry about the trouble we were having but he didn't have any buildings we could use," she said.