PENSIONERS in their 80s and 90s who go to a dance club are being turned out of their building to make way for a 'youth hub.'
Wombwell's Barnsley Road-based Phoenix Social Club has existed for 30 years and meets at Wombwell Community Centre.
Some members have been in the club from the start and were pupils at the old primary school in the 1920s and 1930s.
They enjoy getting together with friends at the club every Wednesday and pay £2 for two hours' dancing. About 15 members regularly attend.
But they've been hit by the bombshell that their building is earmarked to become a centralised 'youth hub' - following closure of three youth clubs in Wombwell, Darfield and Worsbrough.
Brian Steer, 82, of Aldham House Lane, Wombwell, has run the club for the last eight years. He said: "It was right out of the blue. A lady from the youth service called me in and told me. It was a bit of a shaker and she made it quite clear the decision is irrevocable. I had to tell members and they're heartbroken."
Mr Steer said there were no other places in Wombwell for the club to meet. The centre had been ideal because it was on a bus route and had parking.
He added: "One member who was a pupil at the old school in 1935 said he was enjoying himself spending his last days dancing. It looks like the last waltz for us."
A spokesman from Barnsley Council said the club would not be accommodated from September.
The spokesman said: "We're sorry that we can no longer accommodate the dance group, but unfortunately the youth service has had to make savings and we have had to concentrate our provision on one site."
