Brenda Sykes is director of the South Lakeland Carers Association, an organisation that provides support for unpaid carers in South Lakeland.

The number of carers in the UK is estimated to be around six million and this is projected to rise to 13 million in 2006 It is also thought that carers save the Government around £52 billion a year and of particular concern to Mrs Sykes is the growing number of young carers, especially children, some of whom can be as young as seven years old.

The association has been at Stricklandgate House for ten years and has a paid staff of six, dedicated to providing counselling and practical help to carers in South Lakeland.

They also help carers who may have been recently bereaved to come to terms with the death of the person they looked after as losing a loved one "can leave an enormous hole in their life."

She sees the ready-made support network as vital for the organisation to do its job well.

"At Stricklandgate House you can get back-up from all sorts of different types of organisation. If someone comes to us they may also have an issue which can be dealt with by someone else in the building," she said.