A HEARTBROKEN mum said she felt ‘let down’ by the closure of a youth centre her daughter used to attend.

Kathy Sweeting, 68, from Bridgwater said her disabled daughter Sybil, 36, misses The Rollercoaster, a place she attended for about nine years, and she is now “left with nothing”.

She said the closure was “awful” for her daughter who became depressed and lost weight.

Kathy said: “I am frustrated, and we have no explanation for the closure of The Rollercoaster. They only said it was ‘unsafe’ “She has nowhere to go now. She has lost a lot of weight; she is very depressed. She has been to the YMCA, but she misses her friends.

“Now she stays in bed most of the time. The council let the community down.”

Kathy also said that since the start of the pandemic, which coincided with the closure of the centre, her daughter “didn’t have any contact with anyone”.

She said: “I am her full-time carer, she is 36 and she is blind and has cerebral palsy. She is a happy-go-lucky person, but she is not happy anymore.

“We didn’t have any contact with anyone since Covid. She used to go there five days a week, the closure was awful for her. They did cookery days and the centre and they had music. Now it has all been taken away. We are left with nothing.

“It's really heart-breaking to see my daughter like this. We feel let down. I just wish they could open it back up.”

A spokesperson for Somerset County Council said: “The Rollercoaster is a building owned by Somerset County Council that was leased by Discovery for the purpose of Day Service support.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, day services from shared building-based settings were ceased in line with Covid guidelines.

“Discovery have, even before the pandemic, been working towards a community hub-based approach and moving away from large buildings.

“With this in mind, and more people choosing to take up a more community-focused approach to their day service, Discovery has rescinded the lease on The Rollercoaster and are now working from the YMCA in Bridgwater.

“Should anyone feel that they need additional support then conversations can take place on an individual basis. This can be organised by emailing alexandra.seddon@discovery-uk.org or calling 0300 303 9001.”

Craig Lloyd, one of the directors of Youth Unlimited CIC, said the news of the closure of the centre “caused a bit of anxiety” in the people attending the youth centre at The Rollercoaster.

Youth Unlimited CIC operates from The Rollercoaster building and Mr Lloyd would like to clarify the centre is not closed.

He said there are “a few different organisations” operating from the centre, including the one he works for, which operates a youth club twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday evenings.

Mr Lloyd said Discovery provided day services for adults with disabilities, the kind of services Kathy and her daughter Sybil attended The Rollercoaster for and now can not access.

He also added, however, that other services and organisations, including youth clubs, are still available at centre.