CAMPAIGNERS for a new youth and community centre to Colehill are launching a last ditch attempt to save the project.

Their five years of fundraising, collecting £358,000 towards re-building The Reef, in Colehill Lane, will go to waste if they do not find another £328,000 soon.

Loans and grants pledged towards creating a two-storey youth centre with a sports hall, kitchen, computer room and stage will run out if they are not spent.

A £10,000 bid will be lost in June, and Colehill Parish Council could withdraw a £200,000 sum that it took out a loan for.

David Torring, chairman of the Colehill Youth and Community Centre committee, said: “It’s all been a bit of a nightmare.

“This is our last ditch effort really to see if there are any kind benefactors around that will give large amounts.

“That’s really our hope. This building could do a huge amount for the community.”

The scheme was also a victim of Regional Development Agency cuts.

Teenagers from Colehill, Wim-borne, Ferndown and West Moors rely on The Reef, a dilapidated bungalow, for social activities.

Youth worker Melanie Ogden said: “When you’ve got 70 children in here and it’s pouring with rain they’re squashed in like sardines.”

She added: “It means a lot to them they just keep on saying when are we going to get the new building. At the moment we’re so limited.”

The new-look Reef could also host community groups and be hired out.

If the funding target is not met the whole design and planning permission process would have to start again for a one-storey centre, costing more money.

Open gardens

• Sixteen gardens will open on Saturday, June 30, and Sunday, July 1, from 11am to 5pm for the cause.

Tickets are £5, with refreshments at St Michael’s Church Hall and at The Memorial Hall.

• Cyclists are wanted for The Big Jubilee Bike Ride on Sunday, July 8.

Entry £5 for adults, under 16s go free.

Call 01202 842311 for details.

Visit virginmoneygiving.com to donate.