Villagers have raised £3,000 in less than 24 hours to help a crisis-hit social club.

Flimby Social Club held an emergency meeting last night as debts of at least £42,000 threatened its future.

British Gas had threatened to cut off the venue’s electricity supply if half its £9,000 debt to the company was not paid by yesterday.

But villagers keen to see the club survive rallied round, donating £840 at the meeting alone.

At least £3,000 has been raised after the villages M&S Store and Post Office agreed to become a drop-off point for donations.

A new 11-strong committee has been set up to save the club.

It successfully negotiated with British Gas to pay a smaller than first requested amount to begin with, staving off the threat of being cut off.

Committee member Nicola Underwood said: “If there’s a word better than amazing, then the support of the village has been that.

“We certainly feel a lot more positive now than we did on last night.”

But the committee still needs support from the village to turn its fortunes around.

Anyone wanting to donate to help the club pay its creditors can drop off donations at the village's M&S Store and Post Office.

Committee members are calling on people to support the club by using it for events and meetings.