Carers and service users are to hold another protest this week in response to Walsall Council's decision to cut funding for the community alarm service.

A group of residents will demonstrate outside the council house on Wednesday (January 23) as senior members make their way to a special cabinet meeting.

The cash-strapped authority has decided to scrap the £1.29 million funding it provides for the non-statutory service in the face of having to make £20million budget savings.

Bosses also said the service was no longer fit-for-purpose and the council did not have the money to bring it up to scratch.

Protesters demonstrate against budget cuts outside Walsall Council House on Monday, January 7.
Protesters demonstrate against budget cuts outside Walsall Council House on Monday, January 7.

However, a campaign group called 'Sitizens Against the Cuts' has been set up to support people affected by the cut.

Walsall Council's cabinet will be meeting to discuss housing estates on the former Willenhall Gas Works site being taken off the contaminated land list.

But mother-of-two Amy Wolfs, who has organised petitions and sparked debates over the issue in council meetings, said she wanted the decision makers to hear their voices as they arrive on Wednesday.

Amy, whose husband David has severe multiple sclerosis, said: "There is a full cabinet meeting on Wednesday, not to discuss the alarm.

"However Councillor Bird and every other person responsible for these abhorrent cuts will be there. We will be heard."

Carer and mother-of-two Amy Wolfs at the protest against budget cuts outside Walsall Council House on Monday, January 7.
Carer and mother-of-two Amy Wolfs at the protest against budget cuts outside Walsall Council House on Monday, January 7.

In an emotional post on the Sitizens Against the Cuts Facebook page, Mr Wolfs said: "My conditions have no cure.

"In fact, MS is a deteriorating condition. It doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll die. But it does mean I am going to get worse.

"It feels at the moment, like I’m only allowed to need support Monday to Friday, 9-5. Outside of that, there’s nothing. Disability isn’t restricted to office hours."

He added: "My wife Amy and I will be running this group together. It’s designed to give you someone to talk to, someone to help you fight for what you deserve.

"Someone to help you be heard, and force the council to recognise that we are human beings.

"We aren’t burdens or inconveniences, we aren’t numbers on a screen. We have lives. We are entitled to a quality of life. And we won’t allow anyone to strip us of that."