THE future of a once-proud bowls club is in doubt because of vandals and drug users, according to its members.

Annfield Plain Bowls Club, in St Aidans Crescent, Annfield Plain, near Stanley, has become a virtual no-go area for members, as youths meet there at night to drink alcohol and take drugs.

Club secretary Bob Wardman, 60, said: "We have had a problem for the past two years and it is just getting worse.

"They congregate around the back of the hut and we have found hypodermic needles.

"It is not somewhere that people can go and sit any more, which is a shame.

"You cannot go and ask them to move, or you get a mouthful of abuse.

"We have had incidents where they have thrown bottles and even knives at us.

"The police have tried to help, but there is a limit to what they can do."

He said the problem has got so bad that members were starting to stay away.

"We are struggling to keep the club going," he said.

"It is difficult to get people to come along. These kids will walk right across the green in the middle of a game.

"This used to be one of the best greens in the north of England. Everybody wanted to play at Annfield Plain.

"We used to get quite a crowd up to watch the bowls in the summer, but with these young people running around, nobody comes any more.

"If we had a fence put up, it would act as a real deterrent. But there is no point spending money on the green now when they are just going to ruin it again."

Steve Howell, head of Derwentside Leisure Services, which owns the green, said: "We have had perennial problems with this site.

"We have a rolling programme for fencing bowling greens, which has worked really well at deterring vandalism at our greens in Dipton and South Moor.

"We hope to start work at Annfield Plain in the near future."

The latest incident took place on Monday night, when about 20 youngsters left the green damaged, after using it for a game of football.

Police disturbed the youths, who fled on foot across the bridge over the A693 road.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Stanley Police, on (01207) 232144.