An advice centre is celebrating after receiving a £2,000 grant to help it continue its "crucial" work combating debt and poverty on an Oxford estate.

The Blackbird Leys Neighbourhood Support Centre, in Blackbird Leys Road, has been offering free budgeting, debt and money-management advice to people on the estate for nearly 30 years.

Since 2000, it has seen an increase of two thirds in the number of clients it sees.

While it receives some funding from Oxford City Council, it relies on grants to make up the majority of its running costs.

Manager Jim Saunders said staff were delighted to have been given the £2,000 Abbey National grant, towards books and other staff training literature.

He said: "The majority of our funding comes from independent charity grants and it's a lot of work to get it and we still have a shortfall. We are grateful for anything we get."

Mr Saunders said the centre offered a crucial service.

"There's a lot of debt and poverty here and Blackbird Leys has been recognised as one of the areas with the highest rates of child poverty.

"Our drop-in sessions attract anything up to 30 people per time and we see at least 10 clients a day. We offer a very important service to the community."

Single dad-of-four Bryan Meek, 50, of Sandy Lane, Blackbird Leys, first visited the centre three years ago when he decided he could no longer handle his financial problems alone.

He said: "I thought I could handle my debt, but then I tried to brush it under the carpet. I was getting more and more letters and was being threatened with court action.

"I was scared I was going to lose everything the house, my furniture. That's when I decided I needed help.

"I'd been to the Citizens Advice Bureau, but I didn't feel I was getting anywhere. Here, things started happening very, very quickly.

"They told me to write to the debt companies to find out if there was a way to do things and gave me advice on what I could and couldn't do to deal with it.

"Half of it was just about sharing the problem and getting it off my chest and into the open. It was a weight off my mind."

Mr Meek said he now felt more on top of his debt and needed to visit the centre only every few months.

Deputy manager Laura Wilson said: "We start right at the beginning and once we know how much debt someone has, we look at their options. We'd then stick with them until they're back on their feet.

"A lot of it is about offering reassurance very often when the client has opened up and thought about it, they feel quite relieved."

Fleur Gallagher, branch manager of Abbey in Banbury Road, Summertown, said: "I'm delighted we are able to help local people.

"Not being in control of your money can be very uncomfortable and the work of the support centre in helping people get on top of debt is vital."