A youth club set up to diffuse friction between young people and residents in Wandsworth is facing the possibility of closure because of a withdrawal in funding.

The Dempster Road Youth Association faces an uncertain future now support provided by the council which financed the post of a youth worker is to be pulled.

The club was formed six months ago in response to groups of youths playing football in the streets and now has up to 25 teenagers turning up to play sports at the St Faith's School playground in Alma Road on Wednesday evenings.

Parents and residents say the youth sessions have been the key factor in reducing tensions in the area and the club had plans to enter two boys' teams and one girls' team in local football tournaments.

Chairman of the association, Stephanie Conran, told the News: "We don't really know if we can continue to run the club without outside help from the council, but we are going to try.

"We don't want to be just a football club. We have girls and boys who do not want to play football. Unless we can provide something else or at least a warm room where they can socialise, they will stop coming, especially now winter is here."

One parent, Steve Brown, said the project had changed the neighbourhood. He said: Six months ago there was a lot of bad feeling in the street and it was getting worse. Now the kids can see we do have some concern for their problems and are prepared to do something about it."

A spokesman for Wandsworth Council said: "We gave the group as much help as we could. We offered them a sports development officer for eight weeks to help set up their football team and when the time was up we then tried to help them find alternative sources of funding."

December 13, 2001 15:00