ELDERLY residents are upset after being denied use of a community hall.

Members of the 70-strong Chickerell group have been meeting at The Alex pub for the past two years for coffee and companionship.

But, with The Alex set to close its doors before the end of the year the group say it is ‘disgraceful’ they cannot return to Charlestown Victory Hall where they were based for 10 years.

Landlady of The Alex Sharon Pearce, 58, said: “I am stepping down in September and wanted to find somewhere for the coffee morning to go.

"All they do is have a cup of coffee and a chat and bring in some money once a week for a little raffle then use the money for trips to go out and about half-a-dozen times a year. The issue is they have been refused the use of hall. That hall should not be denying them access; I would understand it if they were a troublesome group, the average age is about 75.”

Members of the club have come to blows with the committee of Victory Hall over their right to access the hall many of their parents and grandparents helped to fund.

Former Chickerell Councillor David Oakes said: “I think it is disgusting, most of the families of the people that come to the coffee morning actually paid for the hall.

“Every family in the village paid sixpence a week to build the hall after the war. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot but it was quite a lot of money in those days. The community was supposed to be able to use it for any reason they wanted.”

Longstanding member Doreen Clarke said: “It is a place to come and make friends, it tackles isolation and loneliness in the elderly.”

However, the Victory Hall committee, which is a registered charity, says it has set regulations it must abide.

Committee chairman Jo Castleman said: “Nobody has formally asked the committee for the coffee morning to go back to the hall. The coffee morning began as part of the Victory Hall committee and for 10 years the money was used for the restoration of the hall.

"People would come in and have their tea and coffee and all of that money would go back into the hall. Then, people retired, somebody else stepped in and wanted to keep the raffle money for the group to go on their trips.

"We queried that. We felt, as a charity, there are rules and regulations we need to follow. We were worried there was going to be confusion that the charity was paying for the trips and I don’t think people really understood.”