Hospital staff today vowed to continue the fight to stop their social club from closing.

Bosses at Worthing Hospital have told the club committee to move out of its premises by the end of the month because they need the site for a new creche.

But club members say the building within the hospital complex belongs to them and are refusing to close it.

The club says it is prepared to take legal action against Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust if necessary.

Members believe the existing building could be utilised as a general all purpose staff building with separate sections for the club and the creche.

The idea of moving the creche to the club was unveiled by the trust earlier this year and since then the club has seen a drop in bookings as many people now think it has closed already.

A spokesman said: "We are still open and we have no intention of closing. There was no proper discussion between us and the trust about the situation and as far as we are concerned the club continues.

"The money for this club was raised by the hospital's League of Friends 20 years ago and it has been popular and well used ever since. But despite all that the trust is still insisting on taking it away from us.

"People are angry and upset about this and we are not going to sit back and simply let it happen. We will fight it all the way.

"What we would like to see happen is the proposed closure for October 31 being put on hold so that full and proper discussions can be held between us, the trust and the League of Friends so that some sort of compromise can be reached."

The trust says it needs the social club building because the creche is currently in a temporary building on the hospital grounds and is no longer suitable for the increasing number of children needing it.

It says it has looked for alternative possibilities for the club, including offering discounted membership of the Worthing Civic Hall club instead.

The social club says the civic hall is not suitable for its needs and those of its nearly 300 members and that it should have a place of its own within the hospital.