STAFF at a community centre which is facing possible closure celebrated its 21st anniversary this week by delivering a defiant message: "We will be here for another 21 years".

Staff from the Shildon Centre and their guests gathered at Shildon Methodist Church on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the venue that has established itself as the hub of the community.

The party went ahead despite the fact that the centre is facing possible closure following an announcement by Durham County Council that it was planning to withdraw funding next year.

But there was no room for doom and gloom as centre manager Christine Wood addressed the crowd, saying that she and her staff were determined that the Shildon Centre would still be around to celebrate another 21 years.

She said: "The centre does have a bright future and everyone involved has a very positive attitude. We are doing all that we can to ensure that it is still here for many years to come.

"Twenty one means getting the key to the door and hopefully we are now getting the key in the door for a fantastic future.''

About 90 guests put forward their ideas for the future and enjoyed an afternoon of entertainment put together by youth drama group The Tearaways and a buffet provided by women from the Methodist church.

The Shildon Centre was established in 1985 to help the town recover from the closure of its major employer, Shildon Wagon Works.

It has since gone from strength to strength and is used by hundreds of people, providing transport through the Shildon Minibus Group, a counselling service and a meeting place for vulnerable members of the community.

Volunteers have launched a campaign to save the centre and have enlisted the help of Crook consultants Anne Bonner and Brenda Fulton, from the firm Regional Enterprise Developers, to put together a business plan which should be ready in June.

Miss Wood said: "A lot of people turned out to celebrate our anniversary and more would have come along had we not been limited on numbers.

"I think that proves how much the centre means to the people of Shildon."