A gaggle of excited children career down the stairs, jump into muddy boots and pile out of the door into the garden, laughing and teasing each other.

The reason for their high spirits is simple - a holiday of a lifetime.

Not Disney or a sun-drenched Spanish beach or a safari adventure. This is the Sussex countryside in the middle of February.

All that is on offer is bikes, boats, fresh air and freedom. But to them it is heaven.

Many of the children have never had a holiday. Some have never seen a field or a sheep or heard a real cuckoo.

But these are not children from the inner city borough's of London or sprawling estates in the North-East. They are from blackspots of urban poverty on our own doorstep - places like Littlehampton, Bognor Regis and Hastings.

The children are staying at Knowles Tooth, a farmhouse holiday home tucked in a country lane on the edge of Hurstpierpoint.

It is as far away as you can get from the pressurised, high-rise, urban existence these children normally lead.

The youngsters arrive at Knowles Tooth laden down with suitcases and rucksacks and, usually, a good deal of emotional baggage.

But once inside the young guests can run riot and, possibly for the first time in their lives, be children.

Their parents too, often used to being cooped up in a tiny flat with energetic children, can unwind and enjoy the space.

Knowles Tooth, Saxon for 'the house on top of the hill', is part of the Church of England Chichester Diocesan Association for Family Support Work.

The charity, which helps people from any religion, has been around in some form for 130 years but has never been more needed.

Norah Buckley took over as director in January after years of working as a child protection expert in some of the most deprived areas of the country.

She said: "Because Sussex is in the South, it is assumed people are well-off. But urban poverty in Littlehampton and Bognor is just as bad as it is in the North-East."

Norah said it was the tragedy of Maria Colwell, the seven-year-old battered to death by her stepfather 30 years ago, that changed the way the different agencies worked and brought them together.

She said: "That was in wealthy Brighton and Hove decades ago but that kind of situation still exists today. Rural Sussex is an area of particular deprivation."

Not all the children who come to Knowles Tooth are there because of grinding poverty.

Some come because they are carers for sick parents.

Schools bring children with behavioural problems. Whole families visit together just for a break.

Leigh Smith jointly runs the centre with housekeeper Rose Coppard.

Leigh, who lives 'over the shop' said: "What we do is give people a breather.

"We're geared up to allow children to run riot in the nicest sense."

Rose said: "When they are here, parents have time to play with their children, which they may never do at home."

However, providing such facilities is expensive. It costs £110,000 a year just to keep Knowles Tooth open.

Although the house has always had a loyal band of supporters, volunteers and fund-raisers to survive it needs to raise both its profile and its financial pulling power.

Jonathan Davidson, chairman of fund-raising, said: "We don't get any government funding. Everything we do is financed by donations or by our own efforts."

Knowles Tooth's next major fund-raiser is a gala evening at Wiston House, Steyning, on July 11. For tickets, call 01273 421021.