EMERGENCY talks are taking place at Darwen's oldest Conservative Club, because of a financial crisis that could lead to its closure.

A crisis meeting was held at the club last week and a further meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss the finances of Bolton Road Conservative Club.

Club president John Creek, said: "There is a possibility that the club might close, because we owe somewhere in-between £15,000 and £20,000 to the brewery and in tax.

"It's largely because people's habits have changed in the last 10 years. They don't join clubs anymore, they stay home with friends and get a take-away. We used to have 300 members and this year we only have 150. It's just the way things go."

The majority of members pay the pensioners' joining fee of £3.75, where full price is £7.50. John said: "We have bingo and quiz nights to bring people in, but it doesn't seem to be enough at the moment and it seems that we are kicking against a brick wall."

The club, known as 'top-con' was built in the early 1900s and is the oldest club at the top end of the town, on the corner of Northcote Street.

Two Conservative Clubs are currently running in Darwen. Hollins Grove Conservative Club is on the other side of the town.

The Bolton Road Club is one of the hosts of the Lancashire Billiards and Snooker Association's annual championships.

The club owes approximately £7,500 in VAT bills and its members can barely afford to keep the £1,400-a-week club going, according to a member.

Supplied by brewers Scottish Courage Ltd, the club's trading account is overdue and drink deliveries may be halted if members don't come up with the funds.

John Hudson, chair of Conservative Clubs in the North-West, said: "Clubs across the region are doing very well on the whole and there may be individual cases where they might suffer if, for example, people in the area don't want to come out at night, or there are a lot of young people in the area.

"We will be holding a convention in Windermere with MPs, a message from Iain Duncan-Smith and 150 delegates from Conservative clubs. A lot of them are doing very well, but there are bound to be anomalies."