SQUASH teams say their local leisure centre is flirting with disaster after hearing another court will be closed.

Teams who play at Bamber Bridge Leisure Centre fear there will be nowhere for people to play after leisure chiefs agreed to demolish one of the centre's courts in order to extend the gym.

Now they have collected more than 100 names on a petition to hand it over to leisure bosses.

Team member Martin Hodgson, 39, from Lostock Hall, said: "The courts are busy every evening and a closure would mean that squash would dwindle away."

This will be the second squash court to be flattened at the centre following the creation of the gym around five years ago -- reducing the number of squash courts available to one.

Now the players are concerned other leisure centres in the area will to do the same.

"After the last closure, Leyland Leisure Centre followed suit, closing one of their courts. We're afraid this will happen again," Martin added.

Since playing at Bamber Bridge Leisure Centre the squash teams have gained a good reputation for playing the sport.

Last year the Summer League won the North West County championship, one of the biggest squash contests in the world.

While the centre's Winter League players were promoted to the third division.

Martin added: "It's not just the players who will suffer. Many people use squash as a stress buster so it's just as important to them. There is a lot of local and public support."

Councillor Brenda Wilson, cabinet member responsible for environment and leisure, said: "This decision was approved by the cabinet -- the point of it being that only 31.6 per cent of court availability was being used.

"We have to think about balancing the books and the gym puts £35,000 a year back into the tax payer's pot -- squash only makes £17,000."

"To the best of my knowledge there are no plans to close a squash court at Leyland."

A meeting took place last night (Wednesday) to discuss the matter with the players.