The future of a Brownies and Guides group which has provided young girls with vital experiences over the past decade is hanging in the balance - unless new volunteers can be found.

Rhiwderin Brownies and Bassaleg Guides leader Sam Morgan has put out a cry for help, with the future of the groups handing in the balance.

 as her beloved groups need a new influx to survive in their current unit come the end of the year.

The unit is currently led by Mrs Morgan and two volunteer leaders, both of whom have been rotating in their roles with jobs.

However, the current situation is soon no longer going to be sustainable.

“At the moment, I’m the only full-time leader, and one of my girls is due to go on maternity leave in December,” Mrs Morgan explained. “This means that if I can’t make it, we have to cancel a meeting, and it's last minute, which is not great for anyone.

“It’ll only get worse if we don’t have more volunteers by December as we’ll have to permanently cancel, and I know nobody here wants that.”

Mrs Morgan set up the unit nine years ago, as well as the local Rainbow unit a decade ago, and would be heartbroken to see it go.

She said: “It’s really heart-breaking to be in this situation when you see how much it means to the girls and the experiences that we can provide for them.

“It’s really hard to put across how many key memories the groups can make, how many crucial memories you can get from it, both for the leaders and girls.”

They provide the girls with vitally important knowledge, life skills and experiences that Ms Morgan believes would be difficult to find anywhere else, including extracting DNA from kiwis and strawberries.

The units have been a staple of the community for years, making waves with selling thousands of badges celebrating the centenary of the first women’s vote and always supporting those less fortunate by raising money for charity.

They are now hoping they will still be around to celebrate the centenary of the full women’s vote in 2028.

Mrs Morgan has been part of the Girlguiding family since she was young, and is carrying on the family tradition.

She said: “I do it because my mum was my Tawny Owl (leader) growing up. It’s really hard to put across how many key memories the groups can make, how many crucial memories you can get from it, both for the leaders and girls.

“Both of my girls have gone through the Girlguiding system, and I couldn’t be more proud of them. They have both been part of Rangers and it means a lot to them. I really don’t want it to be taken away.

“It really gives these girls a sense of confidence and self-esteem which will help them later in life. I think people sometimes forget how important Girlguiding is, particularly in comparison to other groups like Scouts.

“It would be a real tragedy to see it fail when all we need is another volunteer to keep it going.”

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, you can visit the Girlguiding website to find out more: https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/ or contact Leader Sam Morgan on Facebook.