THE council this week defended its decision to axe funding to Drugline Spelthorne, blaming key failings in the voluntary organisation's management and administration.

In the same week that Drugline Spelthorne was evicted from its council-owned offices, Spelthorne Council's chief executive Michael Taylor has claimed it was forced to cut the arrest referral and therapy group's annual funding of about £15,000 after finding staff and management were failing to document cases and treatments properly.

Spelthorne Crime Partnership's decision to severe ties with Drugline follows a critical report by Crime Concern which, though commending its counselling and therapy services, concluded that the agency's reliance on a small team of volunteers meant it could not meet the needs of the community. It was also criticised for not having information about clients, their treatments and its success and failure rates readily available. The report said the partnership could not justify the expense.

However, Drugline co-ordinator Daphne Plaskow rejected the claims, saying: "Its absolutely clear the council knew what they wanted a long time before and the report was stage managed to get us out of here before someone else can move in."