A recovering alcoholic has spoken of his despair as a drop-in centre for addicts closed yesterday after failing to pay the rent.

Community Action Development (Cad) has closed its doors on alcohol, drug and solvent addicts at its holistic therapy centre in Barns Road, Oxford.

Kevin Buck, 45, of Headington, turned his life around and gave up drink after using the drop-in centre, but fears many other alcoholics will now turn to crime.

Cad has struggled to stay afloat for the past four years but the final straw came after Oxford City Council rejected a £10,000 grant application, which would have been paid back in rent, last month.

Mr Buck said: "I was depending on this place. It's upsetting because I've come a long way and I've seen a lot of people come a long way.

"Without the support of this place I would never have got through it.

"For some people coming here is the difference between getting clean and getting your life sorted out, or going back to the estates and committing crimes."

Volunteers needed to raise £7,000 to pay for the annual rent but closed the drop-in centre after attempts to draw funds from businesses and councils failed.

Cad was set up four years ago by residents in Blackbird Leys who rallied round to find a way to tackle the estate's problems.

Since it opened, many reformed users have become volunteers who are now seeking careers as therapists and nurses.

Volunteer and therapist Sharon Highton, 29, said: "The council don't want to know and haven't wanted to know since last summer. If they wanted to keep this place open they could have. At Cad it's not about the status, it's about the people - that's why we are so special."

Therapist Simon Stimpson, 31, said: "I came here straight from rehab and this is a bad ending for me."

Yesterday, volunteers started putting the drop-in centre's contents into storage, hoping to reopen later in the year if funds are secured and a new home is found.

Supporters of the drop-in centre aim to start fundraising across the summer.

They estimate it will cost £25,000 a year to run the centre.

In March, the city council agreed to spend a total of £1.7m on good causes in the coming year.