A WORKING men’s club could close down if it fails to raise enough cash to pay the bills.

Highfield Working Men’s Club in Radcliffe Street, Darwen, has struggled with debts for a couple of years.

But now, an unpaid electricity bill could be the final straw, with a county court appearance looming in January.

Club secretary Lynn Baron said: “We just can’t afford to pay the electricity bill.

“There are two properties on the premises, with a flat upstairs and the bar downstairs, and they let us put a meter in upstairs, but said we couldn’t downstairs as it is a business premises.”

Highfield Working Men’s Club celebrated its centenary year in 2008, but it has suffered from a steady decline in trade since the mid-1960s.

In its heyday, the club had a membership of more than 500, with good snooker and darts teams and a packed concert hall. Now, there are about 140 members.

Marsh House Councillor Philip Jones said the problems for working men’s clubs such as Highfield was a national one.

He said: “It is worrying to think what might happen to the place, but it has been struggling for quite a long while.

“It is the same with a lot of pubs and clubs with all the pressure they are under.

“The Government is not helping and we are losing a big part of our local infrastructure.

“You get a micro-hub of people who meet up in these places and we are in danger of losing that.”