Charity bosses were blasted by villagers after the manager of an old people's home was made redundant.

Supporters of the Old Vicarage in Moulsford, near Wallingford, condemned the charity, The Friends of the Elderly, after the home manager Marilyn Burns lost her job.

Miss Burns was manager of The Old Vicarage for 12 years, during which time the home underwent a £3.3m refurbishment - which included the establishment of the charity's first dementia centre. The home was reopened by the charity's president, Princess Margaret, in January following the completion of the two-year improvement programme.

The Friends of the Elderly claim the redundancy is a result of management restructuring at the home.

However, supporters of the charity are angry that they have been left in the dark.

One villager, who did not want to be named, said: "This has come as a blow and has been done without consideration for staff or residents. We feel very strongly about it and the residents are particularly upset. Miss Burns was a very good manager and made the home an integral part of the community." The chairman of The Friends of the Elderly, Old Vicarage Supporters Group, Lady Farrar-Hockley, said: "This is a sad day for us all. Miss Burns is such a nice person and she has worked very hard."

Campaigns manager for The Friends of the Elderly, Lucy Anderson Jones, said the charity had decided to scrap Miss Burn's position following the earlier resignation of the home's clinical services manager.

She said: "Following the resignation of the clinical services manager, an opportunity arose to restructure the existing management structure at the home."

Story date: Friday 29 October

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