A PLAYGROUP in Bewdley which has been running for 22 years is facing closure unless the number of children using it doubles.

Chairman Gail Lawrence said a change in policy by nursery schools to take three-year-olds as opposed to three-and-a-half-year-olds has hit the See-Saw Playgroup hard, with numbers dwindling to eight.

She added while the group, based at Wribbenhall Community Centre in Shaw Hedge Road, has enough funds to see it through to the end of the year, its long term future is in doubt unless it has at least 16 regular children on its books.

The group, which can accommodate special needs children, takes toddlers from two-and-a-half from Bewdley and as far afield as Trimpley and Wolverley - and as a result of the shortage is having to drop its service from four to three days a week.

Mrs Lawrence said: "We are seriously short of children. If we don't get any more we will close. We are in dire straits."

Mrs Lawrence can be contacted on 01299 401685.