A historic netball club could be faced with closure unless it raises thousands of pounds to keep it running.

The Old Plaistovians Netball Club has been competing in sporting tournaments across London since it was founded in 1935.

However, members say the club could soon close due to a lack of funds and they will need to raise approximately £4000 to help cover all costs of the Plaistow based group.

The club, which currently has 30 members, is also looking for new people to join the team.

Rasheel Bhopla, 32, has been a member of the club for five years. She said: “When I first started training we had around 60 members but the numbers have dwindled by quite a bit.

“We need more members to help keep costs down but also donations and sponsorships to keep the club running.”

The club are unable to train at its current venue in Lister School, in St Mary’s Road, this month because they have not been able to raise the rent money and are unsure whether they will be able to train at the ground next month either.

The money raised will go towards funding more training sessions, tournaments, supporting junior members and hiring a training venue during season, between September and July.

However, the club is also hoping to raise money to fund a memorial day for the club’s founder, Les Jones, who died last year.

Rasheel added: “The club started going through a difficult time after Les died. She ran the club for so many years and had made many contacts.

“She was very well known in the community and loved by the group so we’re hoping to do a memorial day for her in September.”

The club is open to junior members as well as adults who want to play in tournaments across east London and Essex.

“We’re all very close. We spend a lot of time together during training, tournaments and we all see eachother outside of training sessions quite a bit.

“It is really important to current members and we want the club to be able to keep running in the future.”

For more information, call 07930857651 or contact opa_netball_club@hotmail.com