A Rawdon-based charity that supports people affected by multiple sclerosis is having to move home.

The West Yorkshire MS Therapy Centre has been forced to seek a new base following the devastating fire that raged at Airedale International Air Conditioning last September.

The centre is based at the same site as the factory, off Leeds Road, and although it escaped damage it will have to close to allow the company’s rebuilding work to proceed.

Airedale, which has provided the charity with financial, energy and fundraising help over the past 25 years, has agreed to pay its rent in a new home for the first two years.

The therapy centre has to move out at the end of this month, but a statement on its website sounded an optimistic note. It said: “We have found a possible suitable site but are waiting for confirmation of rent. Airedale International Air Conditioning have kindly offered to pay our rent for the first two years to give us time to become self-sufficient.”

The centre’s range of drug-free symptom management therapies, including oxygen chambers, help hundreds of MS sufferers and people suffering from other conditions including cerebral palsy and strokes, every year.