A CASH crisis could spell the end of a "pitman's academy" which has shaped ideas in a former mining town for 70 years.

The volunteers who run the Spennymoor Settlement fear it could close unless it can find more than £11,600 to fix a badly leaking roof.

They have appealed to Spennymoor town councillors to save their historic centre by paying £9,942 towards the cost of emergency repairs.

With "graduates" including writer Sid Chaplin and celebrated artists Norman Cornish and Tom McGuinness, the Settlement has been credited by countless people for spurring them on to successful careers.

Originally funded by a £500 annual grant from the Pilgrim's Trust, it staged groundbreaking theatrical productions and offered training to jobless miners.

Since funding ended in the 1950s, a small band of volunteers has struggled to keep it open.

Now secretary Marion Jackson has written to Spennymoor Town Council saying the whole future of the Settlement is in jeopardy and the issue will be discussed by finance committee members tomorrow night.

She said yesterday: "The Settlement is part of the social history of Spennymoor and we are trying very hard to keep it going.

"But unless we can get the roof repaired, it is not worth doing anything else to the building.

"It is very hard to keep it going because we have never had the funds to keep it in good condition.

"Water is coming through the roof and we are worried that it will damage equipment such as lighting boards which could never be replaced.

"We are in our 70th year and it would be tragic if we could not continue. We have all sorts of different classes and activities and they would have to find somewhere else to meet.

"We spend all the money we raise on running the settlement and we have tried many avenues to obtain financial help. Our bid to the National Lottery was turned down.

"Vandals have broken two big windows. They would cost £600 to repair and there does not seem any point if the roof isn't fixed."