THE Movement Centre (TMC), based on the site of Gobowen's Orthopaedic Hospital, has temporarily closed its doors in light of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Earlier in March the centre pledged to honour appointments until the 'foreseeable future', but the ongoing threat of the virus has led to the decision to cancel appointments.

But management at the centre say that although they are closing their doors to the public, they will continue fundraising where they can and that closing their doors was for the safety of everyone involved.

"In the light of the government’s latest announcement with regards to COVID-19, TMC has taken the decision to temporarily close our clinical services," a spokesman said.

"This is the first time we have had to shut our doors in the last 24 years. The health and the safety of our TMC children and families, staff and supporters are paramount.

"While we have had to pause our regular sessions at TMC many children are able to carry on making progress in their specialist standing frames at home and we are so looking forward to seeing them as soon as we are able.

"We miss seeing them all and our wonderful supporters too.

"But TMC cannot stop completely. During the closure we will continue with our fundraising efforts.

"This is a challenging time for so many of us and charities are being affected.

"Our events and activities have had to be cancelled which will have a huge impact on our ability to raise funds.

"We are getting creative and we will be sharing ideas soon of how you can get involved from home and support us so that we can continue our vital work, helping children with movement disabilities to gain independence and a far greater quality of life.

"If you have any new or incentive fundraising ideas we would love to hear from you – Please join in and help us to raise awareness."