Twice a week, members of the Polegate Age Concern group attended their fund-raising lunch club in the hope of coming up with enough money to buy their own minibus.

The proceeds from the lunches were banked every week without fail until, this week, they finally hit their £9,000 target. But as they prepared to buy the Mercedes Benz van they suddenly realised the fund-raising had taken so long they all felt they were too old to drive any more.

It has taken so many years to raise the necessary cash a few of the group's members have died. The group are now deciding whether to go ahead and buy the van anyway or whether to put the money towards something else.

The owner of the van they want to buy has given them two weeks to make up their mind before he looks for a new customer. Polegate Age Concern's chairman Jackie Marsh, 54, is now hoping to find a volunteer driver for the pensioners.

She said: "We raised all the money we need and have an option on a minibus but now we've realised everyone is too old to drive it. "I can't do it myself because I work full time so we are desperate."

The pensioners have their hearts set on the van currently up for sale by its current owner a few miles up the road in Hailsham. The owner has promised to hold off other offers for another two weeks by which time Age Concern must pay up or pull out.

The money for the vehicle is the proceeds from thousands of lunches at Polegate Community Centre which are held every Tuesday and Thursday and attended by dozens of pensioners.

Anyone who can help the group should call 01323 845008 or 01323 503374.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.