A club is to stay male-dominated after a massive vote against allowing women to become full members.

Men at the Marlborough Club, Didcot, voted more than 3-1 against the move. Now women must stay associate members without a voice or a vote in how the club is run.

But their champion, Roger Keller, 43, said there was still hope. He said: "There were only 38 people at the meeting - a pathetic turnout when you consider there must be more than 500 men eligible to vote.

"The women should form an action committee and work harder, persuading their men to attend the meetings and vote for change."

A spokesman for the 300 women members, who declined to be named, said she was disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm for the meeting and the vote.

She said: "We raise massive amounts of money for the club through charity events and yet close on the year 2000 we do not have a say in how it is run. It is really scandalous.

"The men are in for a rude awakening in coming months when the women organise themselves better and force another vote."

Story date: Monday 01 March

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.