VOLUNTEERS are worth a staggering figure of almost £9m to Ryedale, says Paul Hayward, chief officer of Ryedale Voluntary Action.

He told the annual meeting of Ryedale Carers Support (RCS) that the district now had some 2,905 volunteers covering a wide field of activities and some 150,858 people had benefited from their work.

They had put in 61,261 hours, equivalent to a salary bill of £2.3m.

In North Yorkshire as a whole, said Mr Hayward, some 1.6m people benefited from the work of the county's 424,674 volunteers who were worth some £51m according to latest figures.

Mr Hayward said that of the 48,000 people living in Ryedale's 580 square miles, 27pc were aged over 60, and 24 pc pensioners.

Figures showed that of the 20,500 dwellings, a thousand are vacant and a further 1,000 are second homes or holiday cottages.

Of the 18,500 households, 22pc (4,000) have someone with a long-term illness, while 30pc (5,500) have pensioners only. Some 73pc (13,500) have no dependent children and 23pc (4,255) have no access to a car.

"All this has a great implication in terms of social care and carers," said Mr Hayward.

There was now a great opportunity, he said, for the voluntary sector to contribute to the well-being of the community and it was being recognised by the Government.

The 60 volunteer carers in Ryedale spent a total of 5,300 hours visiting and sitting with people in need, the RCS was told.

John Houlford, the chairman, said: "It has been another good year, with a lot of expansion."

A large number of agencies had refered people to the group, including the North Yorkshire Social Services, Malton Hospital, Age Concern, district nurses, families, and Ryedale Voluntary Action.

Mr Houlford praised the group's staff and volunteers but added that more volunteers were needed to enable the group to make a prompt response to calls for help, especially from old people living alone and from residential and nursing homes.

Updated: 09:16 Wednesday, October 09, 2002