Campaigners are appealing for help in saving a popular charitable counselling service with volunteer advisors, set up by an altruistic vicar.

The users and organisers of Haye Mill counselling centre near Callington are trying to raise £60,000 to prevent it closing.

Campaigners spokesman Catherine Tomlinson said: "Haye Mill is a hidden Cornish gem of free counselling which is now at risk of being lost forever."

The working watermill in ancient woodland offers free, professional counselling with no waiting list, no means test, and no catch.

Catherine said: “For over 43 years, Haye Mill Charitable Trust has quietly supported hundreds of people, from Plymouth to Bodmin, across the Tamar Valley and into Dartmoor.

“They are being helped through anxiety, grief, relationship breakdowns, trauma, and the everyday pressures of rural life that can feel overwhelming when you're isolated or struggling financially. Free help like this is almost unheard of here.”

Private sessions are expensive and NHS waiting lists for free counselling can be up to 18 months.

Catherine said: “For someone in crisis, that's no lifeline at all. Haye Mill has stepped in week after week, with qualified volunteer counsellors.”

After 43 years, the fundraiser is trying to repay a loan to the Rev John Littlewood which he provided to keep the service running through a charitable trust.

Without that repayment, by the end of June, the mill will have to be sold, leaving the counselling service homeless and having to close.

The Rev Littlewood restored the derelict mill with volunteers so that the waterwheel provided energy for the site, while running the charity on donations and never taking a salary.

Health reasons have forced the Rev Littlewood to retire. To allow him to retire, the charity needs to repay the £60,000 interest-free loan he made to keep Haye Mill running.

Catherine said: “This isn’t about bricks and mortar. It’s about protecting a unique sanctuary for the next generation facing grief, anxiety, trauma and the quiet struggles of rural life.”

Service user Emma, said: “I used Haye Mill after six sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), through occupational health failed to get me back to work.

“The waiting list for counselling was 12-14 weeks and CBT just six weeks, so I tried counselling through work, while off sick with burnout, anxiety and depression and it worked.

“I self-referred to Haye Mill due to the shorter waiting list, the best thing I could do for my mental health!

“Catherine Tomlinson, my counsellor/therapist, really helped me through the issues deep behind my, then current problems.

“There was always a warm welcome from John Littlewood and his wife, and the mill was very restful.

“Even after dealing with the root of my problems, I attended sessions with Catherine as I took on the stresses of a new job, and as the sole carer for my father.

“I was so thankful for all they have done for me. Just knowing they were there was essential, and the thought that this resource could be gone for good is awfully sad.”

Donations towards saving the counselling service can be made at this link: Crowdfunder