About 125 students will be affected when a council-run training scheme closes next month because it is losing money.

West Oxfordshire Training Services (Wots), based at Thorney Leys, in Witney, runs vocational training for 16- to 25-year-olds. It trains people in their workplace and specialises in sport and leisure, business administration and care.

Wots is a division of West Oxfordshire District Council. Last week (Wednesday Nov 17) the council's cabinet decided it will stop running the service from December 31.

It is looking for other training providers to take on its students, and is in talks with the 10 staff about their future.

The council thought Wots would make a surplus of £31,000 this financial year, but it has lost £197,000. By the time it closes, it is expected to have a deficit of up to £250,000. It has made surpluses in the past of more than £600,000, meaning it has made money since its launch in 1984.

The losses are due to refunds of payments made up front by the Learning and Skills Council, after fewer students than projected signed up for Wots courses.

Vic Allison, strategic director at the district council, said: "It's a balancing act between the additional services and the risk to the tax payers.

"There are plenty of providers doing this, so the question is what are we doing in this sector when most councils got out of it in the early 80s."

The council said it was confident it would be able to find new schemes in Oxfordshire for all students.