Cowley Community Centre is begging for a rescue package after being plunged into financial chaos by the collapse of its social club.

The club at the centre in Barns Road, Oxford, closed on March 27. On Wednesday, it was revealed it had debts of almost £100,000.

Cowley Community Association runs the centre. The social club was run separately, but contributed about £800 a week to the association.

Paul Isaacs, area community centres manager, appealed to Oxford City Council's Cowley area committee for cash to keep the centre going without the social club.

He said: "The social club had got to the situation that with falling sales, falling membership and poor management on behalf of the social club committee, the debts were simply insoluble.

"They got themselves into the situation where they were beginning to owe money, they had a VAT bill from August last year and on top of £80,000 debts to the brewery, they also amassed in the region of £18,000 to Customs and Excise.

"Cowley Community Association, although not liable for the social club debts, is left with the situation that it was receiving in the region of £800 per week income from the social club, which it is not now getting.

"It's going to be in financial trouble unless the area committee or the council can come up with a rescue package.

"If the community association does not receive a grant or loan, it may be forced to hand the keys back the city council."

He said it had cost about £3,500 a month to run the centre, but this figure was expected to drop following the closure of the social club. He asked for £1,500 a month for three or four months to see if the association could continue to run the centre.

Bryan Keen, chairman of the area committee, said: "I think we've got to give them a chance to see if they can run the community centre.

"It gets a lot of bookings, with two dance groups, a credit union and a church group all using it regularly."

Fellow councillor Saj Malik said: "No matter what we want to do, it must remain a community facility, because it's a very valuable place in a community sense. I would hate to lose it."

But Mr Isaacs said full accounts could not be handed over as the centre had been unable to pay the accountant.

He will now try to raise the money to release the accounts and the committee will vote at its meeting in May on whether or not to support the centre.

Brian Berry, chairman of the Cowley Community Association, said: "We are just trying to keep the centre open as long as we can. We'll have to wait and see if we can get the money.

"I have been chairman for 25 or 26 years and I think it's very important to the community."