A Hampshire club has closed after serving the local community for more than a century.

Mounting utility debts, a dismal summer, and the lasting legacy of the pandemic have resulted in the demise of Burley Working Men’s Club in the New Forest.

Committee members held an extraordinary general meeting and agreed that the venue should close with immediate effect.

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They made the "difficult decision" after voicing fears that the site's utility bills would be even higher in the winter.

The club almost closed in 2019 after several volunteers said they wanted to retire. A new committee extended the opening hours and introduced a new low-cost food menu in a bid to save the venue, but the pandemic hit a few months later.

If the closure proves to be permanent the building is likely to become a community asset such as a museum or a heritage centre.

Anyone with ideas on how the building could be used by the community is asked to email the parish council.