A DESPERATE final plea to save Darwen's oldest Conservative club has been made by members after council bailiffs were called into the club.

Dwindling membership and escalating business tax bills have led to the downfall of Bolton Road Conservative Club just five months after committee members vowed to keep the 103-year-old club open.

Bronwyn Halliwell, club secretary, said: "We need 30 people each week to buy two pints but that's just not happening. We can have money thrown at us but we still wouldn't have the membership.

"We have around 25 hardcore members and I'd like to thank all of them for their support but that's not enough to keep us going. I just worry what they are going to do because they have been coming here for years. Where will they go now?"

Three part-time workers, two stewards and a cleaner, were made redundant on Thursday after bailiffs visited the club and informed the committee they would return on Friday.

It is estimated that club membership has dropped from 300 to 130 in recent years and owes around £2,800 to the council in business tax.

The club has managed to bring its VAT bill from £7,500 to around £6,000 to date and has worked off an alleged £10,000 debt in beer sales since last summer.

John Hudson, chair of Conservative clubs in the North West, said: "Clubs throughout the region are doing well as a whole but there may be individual cases where they might suffer if people do not want to come out at night or if there are a lot of young people in the area."

Figures reveal the club needs to bring in £1,500 each week to survive but is only making between £1,100 and £1,300.

Mrs Halliwell continued: "We are absolutely devastated and we've tried so hard to keep it going but you can only do so much. We are desperate for people to come forward and help us out because it's terrible that such a well-established club should go to waste."

Conservative councillors sympathised with the club's committee. Coun Colin Rigby, North Turton with Tockholes ward, said: "It's very sad but unfortunately it's a sign of the times. People want to do different things with their time and it's not really about politics, it's about a change in people's lifestyles."

Coun Dave Smith, chair of North Turton Conservative association, said: "I think the club should have promoted itself a lot more because the area is big enough to warrant a club being there." Fundraising attempts earlier on in the year raised hundreds of pounds for charities and a smaller amount for the club but not enough to keep it running.

A final warning letter was posted to the club three weeks ago and council bailiffs were alerted about its position, although bailiffs did not arrive on Friday. Donna Hall, council executive director for corporate resources, said: "As a council we have a duty to collect business rates from organisations across the borough.

"Despite writing to the Conservative club several times in a bid to reach an agreement regarding non-payment of their rates, the club has failed to contact us.

"We had no alternative but to send their account to the bailiffs. It is not appropriate for the council to comment further at this stage."