A RESIDENTIAL care home in Burnham-on-Sea is to be sold off by the agricultural charity which owns it.

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (Rabi) has said that it plans to sell Beaufort House, as well as Manson House in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, as there is not sufficient demand for them from farming families.

Rabi was founded in 1860 to support farmers and their families, and the care homes were established in the 1980s to care for people from farming backgrounds - as well as other residents when capacity allowed.

Beaufort House has been praised for the quality of service it provides, being rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission in 2017.

Fundraisers for the charity have expressed their disappointment at the decision.

Norfolk landowner and farmer John White told Farmers Weekly: "I am gutted - absolutely gutted."

Jenny Passmore, whose mother Mary was a Beaufort House resident, said she was "extremely sad".

“I’m extremely sad they are selling them off,” she said.

“My mother was really happy there.

"I am upset - but I suppose it is changing times.”

Rabi said its trustees had made the decision to sell the two homes after an 18-month review supported by external care sector specialists.

Chief executive Alicia Chilvers said people increasingly wanted to receive care at home or within the local community.

Established to deliver a 'home from home' service, the sites were also unable to support people with more complex needs such as dementia, Chilvers said.

Both homes will be sold as going concerns - although Rabi said sales like this typically take time and it does not anticipate a quick process.

All current Rabi beneficiaries at the two sites will continue to receive all necessary financial support to continue living at the homes after the sale.