A CLUB for Evesham children with learning difficulties, which was closed down by the charity which sponsored it, is fighting to make a comeback as an independent organisation.

Parents, who were furious at the decision of the local branch of Mencap to withdraw funding support, have launched their own committee to relaunch the club.

Now they are seeking funding to re-open the Timeout Club, which caters for children between the ages of three and 18.

At a recent meeting, where a parent-led committee was formed, it was decided to reopen the club as The Riverside Saturday Club.

The committee is now setting up a bank account and applying to various sources for funding.

Playscheme leader Becky Green said: "We are having another meeting on Saturday, August 12 when we hope to have moved forward.

"I have done the costings for the scheme and it works out to cost £4,036 a year to run, which is not a great deal of money, and hopefully a manageable one to fund."

The club, which was run under the wing of Evesham and Pershore Mencap, met on alternate Saturdays at the Avonside Centre.

But at the end of June, they decided they could no longer afford the running costs and informed Becky and her team that it would have to close.

The decision infuriated parents who claimed there was no other similar facility for their children in the district.

Richard Perry, whose five-year-old son Jordan suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, said the youngster had been heartbroken to hear the club was to close.

"When we told him he offered his 20p pocket money to try to keep it open," said Jordan's mum, Debbie. "That's how much it meant to him."

Mr Perry said he was keen to support any move to restart the club.

John Daniels, clerk to the John Martin's Charity in Evesham, confirmed that a request for an application form for funding assistance had been received in connection with the club but had not yet been returned.