HIDDEN in the countryside near Winchester is a charity that makes the world of difference to scores of people every week.

Yet heading through the scenic village of Avington, it is easy to blink and miss it.

The Pinder Centre offers physiotherapy to people with disabilities and patients recovering from accidents and surgery. It also has a purpose-built swimming pool for hydrotherapy.

Its managers believe that it is the only charity of its kind in Britain, and it receives no Government funding.

The centre was founded in 1973 by Margaret Pinder, and is based in the old coach house of the historic Avington Park estate.

The charity has seven trustees along with 23 staff. Kim Boog-Carmicheal joined around 20 years ago as a part-time nurse.

Five years ago, having worked her way through the ranks, she became its manager.

She said: “It’s a fantastic charity, it is an absolute gem, and there really is nothing else like it.”

She added that their services aimed to help people to live as independently and free of pain as possible.

The centre has thousands of clients on its books, and more than 100 visit on a regular basis.

“Sadly for some of them, it’s the only trip out that they have in a week,” she said.

Clients pay around £40 per session, which makes up the bulk of the centre’s income, she added.

They also carry out fund-raising, but the charity is too small to employ anybody to conduct it, she said.

As a result, they are looking for somebody willing to tackle the role on a voluntary basis.

The centre has enjoyed some success with fund-raising in the past, having generated £750,000 between 2000 and 2005 for a major refit.

Along with the hydrotherapy pool, the centre now offers a range of services from massage to aromatherapy.

Despite its tucked-away location, many people who use the site heard about it through word of mouth.

Clients can refer themselves, although many are advised to visit by their doctors.

This is despite the fact that the NHS does not fund the centre. Indeed, the charity subsidises around a quarter of clients who are on limited incomes out of its own pocket.

Its finances also suffer when clients are unable to attend because they are too poorly. There are some weeks when up to 20 per cent of appointments are cancelled.

Yet the centre keeps going, and provides a physical and social lifeline to hundreds of users.

They include 72-year-old Gillian Mylne, who lives in Ropley and has received treatment at the Pinder Centre for rheumatoid arthritis since 1986.

She said: “I can’t speak too highly of it, and I think it’s one of the reasons that I’ve continue to live in this area.”

She added: “It’s a social outing as well as a treatment. It’s a nice place to come to, and it doesn’t have so much of a ‘medical’ feeling to it.”

The regular visitors also include 77-year-old Pam Highmore, who suffers with arm and shoulder pains, along with the after-effects of a fall.

She said: “It’s a wonderful place. We first came here about 10 years ago, and it was so good that we’ve just kept coming back.”

She attends with her 55-year-old daughter, Linda, who received serious head injuries in a car accident when she was 16, and has limited mobility.

The mother and daughter from Valley Park near Chandler’s Ford usually visit each week.

In addition to individual users, the charity also caters for several support groups, such as people suffering with Parkinson’s Disease.

And in order to keep operating, the centre relies on income from clients and donations.

Anyone interested in fund-raising for the Pinder Centre can reach Kim Boog-Carmicheal on 01962 779498.