The Law Centres Federation (LCF) has posted four cartoons on video-sharing website YouTube, aimed at showcasing the benefits of free community legal advice.

The videos were played to ministers and MPs at the House of Lords on Tuesday, at an event hosted by legal aid minister Lord Bach. Julie Bishop, director of the LCF, said she wanted to show the government that the real value of law centres lies in their ability to change lives.

One of the cartoons (pictured), Sandra and Robert’s Story, shows how Chesterfield Law Centre helped an American woman, Sandra, overturn a Home Office decision refusing her UK residence, so that she could eventually marry Robert, a quadriplegic whose carer had died.

Another cartoon, Maureen’s Story, shows how Maureen, a resident on a Brent council estate, campaigned successfully to improve living conditions for all the estate’s residents, with legal help from Brent Community Law Centre.

Following her success, Maureen trained to become a lawyer and now works for the LCF.