The future of Sutton’s little Oasis cafe hangs in the balance.

The Oasis Cafe, inside Trinity Church on Cheam Road, Sutton, has been operating for over 20 years but is facing difficult times after many years of losses.

Malcolm Booth, 63, from Sutton is the church treasurer and a volunteer at the cafe and revealed the cafe had been subsidised by the church over the last few years.

He said: "We are just about breaking even at the moment. "People don’t seem to think we exist.

"We get new people come in and they say ‘we didn’t know this was here’.

"It was under threat of closure - we’ve managed to bring it back from the brink of the cliff.

"Only one to two extra customers a day would help."

The church supports the cafe by providing around 20 to 30 volunteers, subsidising two people’s wages and the food costs which are not covered sales.

Cafe manager, Marion Edwards, 60, from Sutton has worked there for 20 years and said she loves her job and the people she works with.

She said: "Some lonely people are glad for the company - there’s no music playing - it can be peaceful or very noisy depending how many people are there.

"We honestly did think last year it was hit and miss.

"You can’t drag people in off the street - we have good days and bad days.

"We want to get people through the doors again."

The cafe also provides work for people with learning disabilities through the charity Mencap.

Ms Edwards said: "They work three to four days a week - it’s good for them they have something to do and it brings them out of themselves."

The main priority of the staff and volunteers is to raise awareness of the cafe which sells a range goodies including jacket potatoes with fillings for £2.75 and toasted sandwiches for £2.50.

The cafe is open from 10am to 2pm every day.