CRISIS talks have been called in a bid to save an historic village sports and social club which, following dwindling funds and membership, could be forced to close.

Stoke Prior Sports and Social Club, in Westonhall Road, is used by a variety of sporting and leisure clubs throughout Bromsgrove.

Town teams, including football and bowls sides, will be left homeless unless action is taken to breathe life into the venue.

Set up in the mid-1920s by salt workers, it was originally called Stoke Works Recreation Club and boasted a wooden shed set in acres of ground.

The club was taken over by ICI when it took over the salt works and in 1990 the 'Stoke Shed' as it was called locally, was destroyed by a blaze.

Brick premises were created and the club got its present name.

A few years later, the club got a mortgage to buy the property and it continued to be a hotspot for the village until recently hitting bad times.

Stoke Prior Bowling Club uses the green there six times a week and members have received letters about the meeting which states bosses "feel there is no alternative but to bring the club to a close".

Bowling club committee member Colin Mortiboys said: "Off the green, things look pretty serious.

"Our season has just begun so it would be a crisis for us. It is a very worrying time."

Chairman Mandy Louch said: "Membership has dwindled and the club is not being used as much.

"One of the marked instances is low attendance at regular Saturday night discos.

"This lack of use and increased out-goings to repay the mortgage has meant we have arrived at a point where the long term future of the club is uncertain."

The meeting, called Club in Crisis, will be held at the venue on Thursday, May 18, at 8pm.