A service providing legal advice to asylum seekers in Cumbria is now able to work with more people thanks to new funding. 

PERN Legal and Info has greater capacity to take on clients after receiving grants from Cumberland Council and The National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund. 

Until recently, they were offering support through a drop-in service at Carlisle College once a week - now, they have their own space at the Border Kirk that allows them to open twice a week. 

James Adamson, a legal adviser at PERN, said: "These asylum seekers who come to us, it's those who can't get lawyers, who may well have never had legal advice throughout their claim.

"It's those who might fail a legal aid merits test who simply cannot access the statutory provided services, be it due to a lack of capacity or be it due to the legal aid rules. So they've really got nowhere else to turn.

"It's only because there's a charity like ours able to provide that service that they go from potentially completely uninformed and on their own to having someone who can advise them to put the best case forward."

They're able to help people to prepare their asylum claim, help with the Right to Remain Multi-Level toolkit, provide asylum advice, and help with asylum queries. 

The service is regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner and Mr Adamson is a level two adviser.

All of their work is done pro-bono to ensure that those who need the service are able to access it.

Mr Adamson added: "We had our AGM just last month and a few asylum seekers and refugees who have since left the area came back up for it.

"A number of them were talking about the impact we've had and the impact I'd had personally, and how there were apparently a dozen or so people who said I was the reason they had refugee status and that was just incredible to hear."

Anyone seeking advice on an asylum case can visit the office on Chapel Street on Tuesday and Wednesday between 10.30am-1pm or drop-in at Carlisle College on Tuesday between 4-6pm.