Multi-Handicap Care and Relief Service staff say they will face a £20,000 shortfall when Wolverhampton City Council removes its main line of funding.

Chiefs say the charity, which is used by up to 90 families, will lose out on £12,615. And they claim a separate ban on charging service users per hour has caused them to lose out on another £8,000.

They will present the petition to councillors at a meeting tomorrow – and are hoping they can persuade the authority to change its plans. A report to the meeting recommends the committee confirms a previous decision to endorse the cuts.

Service chairman Nick Ashby said: “We have gathered a substantial number of signatures and we want the council to realise the strength of feeling.

“This process cannot go on too long as if we need to close the service then we need to make sure we have funding available for redundancy payments for our workers, as they are going to be out of a job.”

Funding cuts of £220,000 to charities and community groups across the city were approved despite protesters packing out a meeting of councillors. Among those affected from April was Multi-Handicap Care and Relief Service.

The council currently pays the organisation £21 an hour for everyone who uses it but wants to cut that to £13 for adults and £16 for children but Mr Ashby said the small organisation could not provide the services at such a low a cost.

The council has said it will open a tender for other providers to bid to run a similar service more cheaply and the need for job losses would be minimal as carers’ contracts would be taken on by any new provider.