The city council has been criticised for closing three advice centres that help people back into work, despite the fact more people are being made redundant every week due to the deepening recession.

The Information and Advice Centres in Southmead, Filton and Lawrence Weston are all set to shut their doors on Friday this week,despite helping hundreds of people every week to find work and manage debt.

The three shops have never been busier because of the ongoing financial crisis, so hundreds of people have signed a petition to save the branches, but the council says it does not have the funding to keep running them after the Government pulled the plug.

In the last year the Government has provided the centres with £40,000.

The Southmead centre in Greystoke Avenue is known as the Scart Shop, which stands for Southmead Contact and Resource Team.

It was the first to open three years ago, and as it was considered such a success, the other two branches were opened 18 months ago.

Each shop is run by a full-time manager and local volunteers, but the employees, including one temporary member of staff, are set to lose their jobs at the end of the week.

The centres offer a range of services including help writing CVs, job adverts and debt advice.

They also host a number of other organisations, including the Citizens Advice Bureau, Bristol Credit Union, Connexions and has a local police surgery.

Talks are ongoing to rescue the shops but staff are not optimistic.

Julie Doughty, operations manager for the Southmead Development Trust, oversees all three shops, and said: "The funding has run out and we have been unable to source any other funding.

"With the current redundancy situation we've had significant levels of increase in requests for training.

"The good thing is they are located in the heart of the community.

"Another benefit customers have said is that they are like the old job centres, with jobs on cards so you don't have to use computers.

"I don't think anybody, even the council, agree it's an ideal time to close these shops.

"Services at the Southmead branch will be replicated at the Greenway Centre but it's not a shopfront location."

The Southmead Development Trusts supports the advice centres' activities but as a charity does not have the money to provide funding.

Labour councillors Peter Hammond and Jenny Smith are supporting the campaign to save the centres and Mr Hammond said: "The Scart Shop is well used by local people and is particularly needed at this time of recession and offers help with job search help and debt advice.

"We had urgent meetings with the council to try to keep the shop running but time is running out.

"The council response to the recession and its effect on Southmead residents has to be better than allowing this information and advice centre to close, which would be a public scandal."

A council spokesman said: "We understand the importance of this service and are exploring a range of options with regards to the future provision of information and advice services in the area."