NEWLY-recruited Labour councillor Mick Moulding has pledged to fight his colleagues over plans to remove bowlers from the Smith's Recreation Ground.

In a leisure services committee meeting last Thursday Coun Moulding said: "I will not support any motion of this council to move the club to Frenchwood.

"At the end of the day, the needs of the bowlers are paramount. To move them to another site would be a severe error of judgement."

His attack comes just weeks after defecting from the Liberal Democrats to join the ruling group.

He vowed to stand up for the elderly bowlers, who are calling for a two-and-a-half metre high metal fence around the site.

He said: "I think the report is very negative in content and fails to address the needs of the bowlers.

"The young people in that area have no regard for the older people who play bowls and what they do is tantamount to pure vandalism - they have been verbally abused and have had stones tossed at them.

"But to relocate them to the Frenchwood site, which has had drainage problems for many years, is fundamentally wrong.

The bowlers are appealing for the £17,500 security fencing in a bid to prevent youths getting in and playing football on the quality turf.

Councillors agreed to set up a sub-committee to meet with the 26 club members before making a final decision.

Club chairman Ted Woodcock, 83, said: "We welcome the meeting with the sub-committee and will be putting our case forward. However, we will be insisting that the matter is resolved before the start of the bowling season in April.

"I have played bowls since I was 16 and have played at Smith's Rec since 1947. Like all the members I don't want the site moved and want them to build a fence."

Coun Mick Moulding said: "I have met the bowlers several times and they are unanimous that they don't want to move and I hope that this committee can give them assurance that they can stay."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.