A DESPERATE appeal for help has gone out to head off a cash crisis at Penistone Leisure Centre.

Volunteers who run the centre have until Monday to raise £2,000 to pay for vital roof repairs - if they don’t hit the deadline, roofers who have already started work could have to down tools and dismantle scaffolding.

This would only add to the burden as new scaffolding would then be needed for if and when the job re-started.

The urgent need for cash has come as a massive blow to volunteers. They were thrilled when they got grant funding to do a complete roof renovation along with new windows at a cost of around £25,000.

“It felt great to see the scaffolding going up,” said Fran Greenwood, spokesman for the centre which is widely used by people from across Barnsley and beyond.

“But this week we were dealt the blow that damage to the roof is much worse than expected and than we had been quoted to repair.

“There is a massive rooflight of which nearly all the glass panels are cracked or broken and the wooden frame holding the glass is decayed and fragile.

“This repair is vital and urgent to safeguard the centre and prevent further damage to the floor. We urgently need to raise this £2,000 as this aspect of the roof work is not covered by the grant.

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“We had been planning on launching a major fundraising drive soon. But as it turns out, ‘soon’ isn’t soon enough.

“We are heading towards a critical cash flow problem, so without help from the community, the project could stall, or worse - go under.

“This would be utterly heartbreaking for the many volunteers and centre users who have put their time and effort into the centre for the last seven years.”

The extra work to repair the rooflight would cost nearly £6,000, but the roofers need some of the money now to buy slates and insulation materials to stop leaks and prevent further damage.

Fran praised the Penistone-based roofing firm Parker Maythorne for the way they have helped the centre. “None of this is their fault,” she said. “They have been very generous. But if they can’t continue with this work they will have to move on to another job.”

A JustGiving page has been launched - click here.