A last-minute cash boost has failed to stop the Unity Project from closing its doors.

Some of the work of the east Oxford-based project, established to help women from ethnic minorities find employment, will be able to continue thanks to the £40,000 Home Office grant.

But managers at the Oxford Women's Training Centre, which ran the project in Union Street, said it was not enough to prevent it closing on April 25.

Debbie Butland, operations manager at the OWTS, said some services could be provided despite the centre's closure. She said the Government grant would not have prevented the office closing, but would mean some services could be reprieved.

She added: "We'll now consider what services we can provide between now and September.

"We will hold discussions with potential partners and look at the range of work we will be able to continue."

Ms Butland said Lonah Hebditch, the Unity Project's manager, had left to take another job.

Ms Hebditch had applied for £75,000 -- which would have paid to keep the centre, run by a team of six, open for another six months.

Over the past three years, the project has advised 102 women on jobs, counselling and welfare. More than 20 have found employment, with six setting up their own businesses.

The project was launched two-and-a-half years ago with a £250,000 grant from the Home Office, and a total of 10 self-help groups were established around the city.