A FISHING club which helped take troubled youngsters off the streets has been forced to close - with funding splashed on basketball floodlights instead.

Organisers and supporters of the Stambridge Fishing Project have been left furious by the abrupt closure, with council bosses “failing to inform” the fishing club its funding had been pulled.

About £2,000 of National Lottery funding was needed to keep the project running, but this money has now been spent on upgrading two floodlights at the Stambridge Memorial Hall.

Bosses at Stambridge Parish Council have insisted the fishing programme is “no longer financially viable.”

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Nick Watkins, who has run the programme for seven years, condemned council chiefs.

The 59-year-old said: “It’s been really successful, and I’m really disappointed.

“It’s really helpful for the kids, it turns them away from trouble, and helps them get back into the education system. Some of them have special educational needs too.

“What are they going to do now? Nobody told us the funding wasn’t going to be directed to us. We were left in the dark completely.”

The parish council told the National Lottery it would no longer be using the funds for the fishing project, but instead of scrapping the funding altogether, two floodlights at the memorial hall were upgraded.

The floodlights illuminate the basketball courts at the hall until 10pm everyday.

Julie Gooding, vice-chairman of the parish council, said: “At the moment, there’s only two people using the project.

“It didn’t make sense for it to continue. We’ve instead reinvested the money into something that is great for youngsters.The courts and the hall is a great facility.”

Mr Watkins, hit back, and said about ten people usually attend each week.

He said: “We’ve had a pandemic, so we haven’t been able to run it properly. Hardly anybody uses the basketball courts.

“I was like a big brother to those kids, we built up a really good relationship which allowed them to open up about their struggles. It’s such a shame they pulled the plug.

“They’re going to be so disappointed they can’t go anymore.”