“Without this place I would still be coked up” is how a 32-year-old former addict described a specialist centre which is concerned about its funding.

After eight years of drinking, taking drugs and partying, former city worker Neil – not his real name – decided he needed help.

Three months ago he approached the One North East London alcohol and addiction service for help and is now making a steady recovery.

Neil said: “When I got drunk I would take coke. I needed help. If I’d of continued like that my heart would have failed at some point. It was a debauched lifestyle of drink and drugs.”

He started attending the group therapy sessions which are held twice a day five days a week and cover issues such as relationship problems and anger management.

“Someone gave me a line of coke and I thoroughly enjoyed the first line and I have been chasing that first line feeling ever since,” Neil said. “It was about forgetting all my problems but I was just enveloping myself into more problems. It was a debauched life of drink and drug fuelled orgies.”

He said that his relationship fell apart and he was no longer bothered about his performance at work, frequently missing deadlines and performance target.

“Without this place I would still be coked up. If I’d of continued like that my heart would have failed at some point. I’ve started rebuilding my life - I’m putting right the eight years of wrong.”

At the annual general meeting held on Friday at the centre in The Broadway, Woodford Green, trustees voiced their concerned about the centre’s future.

Trustee Gerry Fryer, 57, of Woodford Green, said: “We are different to most services in the borough as we are abstinence based. We are concerned about the future and our funding. The more funding we have the more programmes we can put on.”