A JOB club in dire financial straits has failed to reach its fundraising target and may face closure.

Management team members at the Going for Gold job club, based at The Mill Arts Centre, in Banbury, needed to find £7,500 to match funds offered by Oxfordshire County Council.

The money would have allowed it to stay afloat until next April, when money from the European Social Fund is expected to kick in.

But despite extensive campaigning and a loyal support base in the community, just £245 has been raised online and the club has no sponsor.

Managing director Michelle Howie said: “We are waiting for a miracle.

“Our last deadline has just passed. We need to get something together this month. I don’t know whether it’s going to happen.”

The club, now in its third year, helps up to 29 people and is the only job club in Banbury other than the one run by Cherwell District Council every two weeks.

Mrs Howie added: “Our regulars are very concerned. Some of them don’t have very good IT skills and take longer to fill out a form. To have just one job club every couple of weeks is quite difficult. For three years we have worked so hard and it’s just going to stop.”

See crowdfunder.co.uk/save-our-banbury-job-club.