A THRIVING East Cornwall scout group this week issued a desperate appeal for help, to stave off the threat of closure.

The 1st Tamar Valley Scouts are appealing for a piece of land to house a scout hut — they fear that without help they could be forced to disband by the end of the year.

The scouts have to move out of the premises rented from Delaware Pre-School by December and although the group has been donated a scout hut, it has no-where to put it.

Chairman of the group Nick Buxton said: 'A local person has donated us a hut, which is quite a substantial building measuring 20 metres by seven metres.

'But we need somewhere to put it and we are appealing to anyone who might have a piece of land available in the Delaware or St Ann's Chapel area.'

The hut will need to be housed on a concrete base and Mr Buxton said ideally the site should be fairly prominent and have connections to the utilities like gas and water and sewage or a septic tank.

'We need a large enough area where people can drop off and pick up their children and where the leaders can park,' he added.

The scout group caters for children from age six to 14.

At present it has 20 cubs and 18 scouts and is just about to reform a beavers' group, due to local demand.

'We should end up with 50 to 60 children in September,' added Mr Buxton.

'There is a lot of enthusiasm from the young people as well as from parents and leaders and the bottom line is if we cannot keep it going after December with a new premises then it will all fizzle out.

'It is vital we have a premises and to have one which is exclusive to us is much better from an activities point of view.

'The problem with using someone else's building is that you can never leave equipment out or use the space to the best advantage.'

The chairman said the group did not have large sums of money to buy land but had been saving towards a scout hut.

'There is a small hut fund but ideally we hoped someone might give us a piece of land,' he said.

'The other option is a long term loan where the owner can have it back after a certain period.'

The group has approached Calstock Parish Council to see if it can help its plight.

If anyone else can help, they should contact Nick Buxton on 01579 351124.