OKEHAMPTON Youth Hostel, struggling to survive after the foot and mouth crisis, has been thrown a lifeline which could save the business.

The hostel has been given a one-off loan by West Devon Borough Council to finance a special climbing wall in an effort to attract clients back to the facility.

The hostel had to close at the end of March due to the foot and mouth crisis and the staff were laid off — so far the closure has cost thousands in cancelled bookings.

In an effort to provide alternative facilities at the site as soon as possible, it was decided to build the climbing wall and provide trampolining at a cost of £8,000.

The borough's policy committee agreed to fund the total cost, to be repaid over the next 11 years.

Cllr Nicholas Waterhouse proposed the borough lend the full £8,000 to the hostel, instead of the £6,000 recommended by officers.

He said it 'didn't seem terribly fair' not to lend the organisation the complete amount, forcing them to arrange a separate loan.

The cost to the borough tax payers was just £20 a year, said Cllr Waterhouse.

'I am very glad to help in a small way at a time of great difficulty for the youth hostel, which is a very valuable institution,' he said.

Cllr Margaret Garton, who seconded Cllr Waterhouse's

proposal, said: 'This is an excellent and valued regeneration project — it is recognised worldwide as we have so many foreign tourists using the place. To fund totally the wall in this way shows the commitment of the borough council in taking immediate action to support organisations who have been affected by foot and mouth disease.'

Manager at the hostel John Elson said: 'This is absolutely brilliant. I honestly don't think we would have survived without taking this action.

'We've had £30,000 worth of cancellations and that was absolutely devastating.

'We've only been going four years, it's a fairly new business and we were developing as one of the busiest activity centres in Devon, certainly on Dartmoor.'

Mr Elson said the overnight bookings for March had dropped from some 600 to just 54 and April was little better.

With the introduction of the climbing wall, the hostel can still book school groups, which will keep the business ticking over until foot and mouth restrictions are fully lifted.

'Whereas we used to climb on the rocks at Belstone, we can now do it on site. It's a good facility anyway for teaching skills,' said Mr Elson.

'We are now a lot more optimistic, without doubt. It means we don't have to cancel schools for June and July which means the hostel will get through, although it will still be a difficult August because we are not getting the European tourists.

It's certainly good news all round — and it might just tip the balance.'