THE ex mayor of Winsford said bulldozers were welcome to level New Images youth club – over his dead body.

Clr Mike Kennedy’s rallying call for resistance comes at a time when the centre’s future is under immediate threat.

The facility is run in conjunction with the Winsford Academy, but the borough council has told club operators, Winsford Youth Forum, that their application for an asset transfer for the facility will be rejected when the academy’s lease expires next month.

The forum is now holding meetings with Cheshire West and Chester Council in a bid to have the current lease scheme extended.

“New Images youthy is under threat of demolition with at present no identifiable option for our young people to go to,” said clr Kennedy.

“Our young people in the town see New Images itself as the only option. It is in a safe community area and has been a forerunner for youth services for over thirty years.

“To knock down a popular youth centre for CWAC policy would be a travesty and I for one would fight to the bitter end.”

11-year-old club-goer, Roxy Murray spoke out for the young people that use New Images.

“The youth centre means the world to me,” said Roxy. “All my family went there and I want my children to go when I'm older.

“It’s really helped me become a better person. It’s a caring environment and the people there are so nice.”

New Images is the largest youth centre in Winsford.

The Winsford Youth Forum received £5,000 as one of clr Kennedy’s chosen mayoral charities last year.

They hope to use the money to secure the club’s future and develop the centre for future generations of Winsfordians to use.