FAMILIES with disabled children need a few hours of respite - and a scheme to help them is searching for new carers.

The Family Link Service is run by Hampshire County Council's social services department, and enlists ordinary householders to look after children for a few hours on a regular basis.

The aim is to give the family a chance to go out, or just to carry on with daily life, free from the constant worry and effort that a disabled child can demand, however much they are loved.

Those taking part will be paid an allowance and given training to understand the needs of the child, but no qualifications are required, just a real interest in children.

Potential carers will be assessed by social services and, if accepted after police checks, offered informal support and advice once they start.

The most common arrangement is for a child to visit the carer one weekend per month, but some families prefer a few hours each week. The care can take place in the child's own home, too.

Sharon Barnes, from The Vale, Oakley, is a mum who benefited from the Family Link Service until two months ago, when the carer's home circumstances changed and she could not continue.

She and husband Trevor have a seven-year-old daughter, Zoe,with cerebral palsy and another daughter Amy, 10.

Sharon said: "We need a Link family at weekends and evenings so we can go out with the kids as a family unit.

"Otherwise, we can only go to the pictures or swimming separately, because either me or my husband has to stay here.

"My husband is often away on business and, unfortunately, baby-sitters don't work at weekends. Zoe is not mobile and needs one-to-one attention, so child-minders will not take her. When we had Family Link, it made a big difference and Zoe used to be ecstatic when the carer came round."

Sue Glover, Family Link co-ordinator for Basingstoke, said there are currently 11 carers in the local scheme and more are required.

She said: "We have about 30 children who could really benefit from this. All sorts of people do it and it is a very flexible system. Social workers often say this is the best resource they have.

"There will never be enough, but we need all the carers we can get.

"It makes such a massive difference. In some families the strain of having a disabled child can lead to marital breakdown when one of the parents finds if difficult to cope."

Anybody wanting to become a member of the Family Link Service should telephone 01256 362074.