Scores of pensioners could be stranded at home after a church minibus packed up.

It has been in use every day for 12 years and is a lifeline for the pensioners it ferries to and from the Home From Home day centre at St Christopher's Church in Holme Wood.

Pensioners have been busy trying to raise £27,000 for a new minibus - which would need to be fitted out with a chair lift for wheelchairs.

But now their bus has broken down with little hope of being repaired.

It is the only way of transporting more than 20 of the day centre's 90 visitors - many of whom rely on the centre for a daily hot meal and friendship.

Canon Gordon Dey, vicar of Tong and Holme Wood parish, said: "It looks like the bus is dead and buried which means we cannot collect people for the day centre.

"We have some volunteers who are collecting people in their cars but we don't know how we will pick up the most disabled people, such as those in wheelchairs.

"Without a chairlift on a vehicle we cannot get these people out of their homes to the day centre. If people do not get out they do not get all the things we provide for them at the centre which includes a home made hot meal, activities and friendship through meeting other people.

"It's a crisis for these folks. Some of them just cannot get from their homes to the centre. It's a huge restriction on their lives if we cannot get them to the centre."

Pensioners have already raised about £3,500 towards a new minibus but they are still a long way off their final total and they need help now so people can still visit the day centre.

Canon Dey is appealing to anyone in Bradford who can offer a minibus to the church to ensure some of the most vulnerable and isolated people in Holme Wood are not left alone.

"Even if someone can offer us a temporary solution to help us while we are raising enough money to buy a new bus, it would make such a difference to these people," he said. "Some people would not see anybody from one day to the next if they did not come to the centre. We provide the one opportunity they have for friendship, especially for those who are the most house-bound. We enable them to live independently."

The bus needs to be suitable for wheelchairs and disabled people. Anyone who can help is urged to call Gordon Dey on (01274) 682100.