Volunteers at a North Somerset social club have issued a ‘use it or lose it’ plea after being forced to slash its opening hours to keep its doors open.

Committee members at Winscombe Club have made the ‘difficult decision’ to close the bar on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in a bid to reduce costs.

The move comes as the committee struggles to balance the books and keep the club, which has been part of the village for decades, afloat.

And unless the financial situation improves, officials say there is a ‘serious risk’ the club could be forced to close permanently.

The club, which has around 300 members, introduced the reduced hours earlier this month.

Club chairman Gregg Dover said: “We now need peoples’ support more than ever.

“Rising costs have had a real impact along with the cost of living and, like countless clubs and pubs, we’ve been facing tough financial times and we’ve been losing between £1,000 and £1,200 each month.”

“To keep our doors open we’ve had to make some difficult decisions.”

Despite managing to survive the covid pandemic closures and re-opening when restrictions allowed, the club has found itself struggling financially for the last 18 months and relying on its cash reserves to keep running.

The building is owned by the Royal British Legion and rented out to the club management committee.

As well as reducing opening hours club bosses have been trying to scale back costs in other areas, including cancelling some entertainment subscriptions.

The committee has been working hard to turn things around, reintroducing entertainment at the village hub.

“We have been pulling in our belts in every way possible,” said Gregg who also volunteers behind the bar along with other committee members.

“But the fact is that everything has gone up in price, from energy to the cost of alcohol.

“As a committee, we are working really hard to secure the club’s future.

“Everyone I speak to wants it to remain open, but it very much is a case that if people don’t use and support the club, they could lose it.

“We have started to reintroduce entertainment and we held a race night last month which was very successful.

“We are planning other events including a quiz and bingo night and another race night.

“We are taking drastic action to ensure the club survives.”

The club, which is known for its work raising money for charitable causes, has a main bar and a function room which can hold up to 250 people. It also has a skittle alley, a darts area and a kitchen.

It now opens from 5pm on Thursday, from 2pm on Friday, from noon on Saturday and from noon until 8pm each Sunday.

“We need to rally together to keep the spirit of Winscombe Club alive,” said Gregg.

Anyone who wants to get involved and help support the club can either pop into the bar or get in touch via the Winscombe Club Facebook page.

The club AGM is on May 2nd.