A FOOTBALL club has called an emergency meeting with brewery bosses to try to save a village social club.

Evenwood Town AFC has called the meeting following the closure of the village's sports and social club at the end of last month.

It is a case of role reversal, because the sports and social club was recently at the heart of a successful campaign to save the football club from closure because of a floodlight crisis.

Team manager Ken Houlahan said that the sports and social club was the only place where the football club could hold its fundraising events.

He said that if the social club remained closed, it could have a serious knock-on effect on the football club's chances of survival.

Mr Houlahan said: "This is not an immediate threat and we are able to continue with our ground developments and community-based sports programme plan. However, if the situation was to continue long-term, then clearly alternative arrangements would have to be made.''

The sports and social club, which was established in the 1960s, closed its doors for the final time at the end of last month, after the owner gave the keys to the Federation Brewery.

The building is currently up for sale.

The football club has now joined forces with a local company, which has not been named, in the hope that the brewery will enter into an interim agreement to enable the club to remain open until it is sold on.

It has written to the brewery inviting representatives to an emergency meeting, and has also invited Bishop Auckland MP Derek Foster to attend.

Rob Gowan, spokesman for the brewery, said: "We have received a letter from the club requesting an emergency meeting about the possibility of an interim trading agreement to re-open and run the Evenwood club over the next three months.

"This is obviously a matter of commercial sensitivity and the brewery is considering its options, but following the owner's decision to hand the keys in to us we have asked our agents to place the property on the market.''