Salisbury croquet club gets helping hand from housebuilders
The Hamptworth club say they're in danger of having to close.
The group, based at the Hamptworth golf club have launched an urgent campaign to save themselves, after suffering a loss in income during the Covid-19 crisis.
As many of their members are aged over 70, and have been shielding throughout the pandemic, they've really struggled.
The club's just had a grant of £1,000 from Persimmon Homes South Coast to help them along.
That money will go towards some maintenance equipment for their croquet lawns.
Chair of the Hamptworth Croquet Club Steve Bennett said:
"Due to the current crisis, we have lost income, members and membership recruitment opportunities. We also now face having to become more self-sufficient in our lawn maintenance, but unfortunately, we do not possess any lawn care machinery.
"We are exploring all avenues to raise money to buy a specialist mower to keep the croquet club going.
"We have applied for grants from a number of sources, but with little success so we are absolutely thrilled that Persimmon Homes South Coast chose to support us. It is a real step in the right direction, and we are extremely grateful."
The club's set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise £3,000 towards their ongoing running costs.
Matt Paine, managing director of Persimmon Homes South Coast, said:
"We are delighted to be able to support Hamptworth Croquet Club, which is clearly facing difficult times."