A VILLAGE sports club has been saved from closure by a grant made possible by a load of old rubbish.

The bowling club at Thornton Dale, near Pickering, has been saved from the axe thanks to £28,500 from the environmental group Yorventure.

Yorventure is backed by the Northallerton-based waste management company Yorwaste which operates the Caulklands landfill site near Pickering. Under the landfill tax credit scheme, operators are allowed to invest some of the tax they collect on behalf of the Government into environmental projects near their site.

The new grant will save the Thornton Dale Bowling Club by helping to fund a new pavilion.

The floors of the present single-storey brick and timber building are in such a poor state of repair that it is about to become unusable - making it impossible for the 50 members to compete in their local league.

The grant has given the club the bulk of the £42,000 it needs to build a new pavilion and kitchen - using materials in keeping with its position within the North York Moors National Park.

The club is raising the rest of the money through its own efforts, which include the annual bowling club gala, which raised £525 this year, and an annual fund-raising revue by the Thornton Dale Amateur Dramatics Group.

Club charity secretary John Grimble, said: "We bought the pavilion secondhand when the club was established 25 years ago but the floors are falling through in parts so it's dangerous to use.

"If we don't have a pavilion we can't compete and thrive and many local people would lose an important social and recreational facility. The Yorventure grant has saved the club from closure."

Club members compete in six different leagues and also have strong links with the local community.

They run Saturday sessions for senior members and encourage children from the local primary school to visit with a view to setting up a children's league. Members of the Pennines Visually Handicapped Group also visit the club each year for bowling sessions. Work on the new pavilion is expected to start in late September.

Two other projects in the area have also received Yorventure grants. Ebberston village hall is getting £2,000 towards repairs and an extension while Lockton and Levisham village hall is getting £2,102 for new tables and chairs.