THE committee of a Darwen Conservative club is to hold a crisis meeting next week to discuss the threat of impending closure due to unpaid bills.

Bolton Road Conservative Club, known as the 'top con', has been trying to stave off financial disaster since a £7,500 VAT bill arrived unexpectedly earlier this year.

The club has appealed to members to support fund-raising efforts and come up with ideas, otherwise closure is "bound to happen".

Despite a table-top sale and a 'Stars in their Eyes' night to raise cash for the club, the bill has not yet been paid and the committee is to meet once more to discuss whether the cash-flow problems can be stemmed and what action to take next.

The club, built in 1900, is the oldest of the two Conservative clubs in Darwen and currently has about 150 members, most of whom pay the pensioners' joining fee of £3.75, half the standard price.

But numbers have fallen from 300 and the committee has struggled to make ends meet as a result. During the last two months it has staged two charity events, raising more than £500, but a table-top sale to raise cash for club funds was poorly attended.

Chairman Harry Birkett said: "The VAT bill is still outstanding and we have professionals trying to sort these matters out.

"We have organised some very successful special nights at the club to raise money for charities which depend a lot on clubs like ours. A casino night for the NSPCC raised £300 and a sports quiz a couple of weeks earlier raised £275 for Cancer Research.

"The table-top sale in March raised funds for the club but was poorly attended by members. We have recently staged a folk night on Thursday nights once a fortnight and we are hoping this takes off to become a regular event.

"The bottom line is that if we do not get the support from the members, the inevitable closure of the club is bound to happen.

"The club cannot function without a strong patronage and positive ideas from members are always welcome."

Mr Birkner said more ideas were "in the pipeline" but that he could not comment further until after the committee meeting next week.