A bingo hall that has been at the heart of a community for more than 30 years is to close down with the loss of all 20 jobs.

Walkers Bingo Club, in Wednesbury, said it could not compete with the large national chains and had been hit hard by the smoking ban and recession.

At its peak, 4,000 people were passing through the doors every week but that has now dropped to an average of 800.

The Walsall Street club has more than 1,500 members on its books and its oldest regular customer is 96.

Established in 1976, Walkers will host its last game of bingo in Wednesbury on Sunday evening. Emotions were today running high at the club, with several staff members in tears over the announcement.

Barbara Toy has been at the Walsall Street bingo hall since 1982, and worked her way up from the buffet section to general manager.

Mrs Toy, aged 60, said: “I am devastated, we all are. I can’t put into words how upset I am, my heart is breaking.

“I have been here for 28 years and my assistant manager, June Perry, has been here for 23. What’s next for us now?

“We are one of the last traditional bingo clubs and have regular customers in their 80s and 90s. We are more like a social club and everyone knows each others’ names. Where are the customers going to go now?

“They have no where to go and this is another blow for this end of the town.”

Mrs Toy confirmed that all the Walkers Bingo Club staff had lost their jobs.

“The recession, the smoking ban, internet bingo and changes to the gambling laws have all hit us hard,” she said.

“And we can’t compete with the likes of Mecca and Gala, which are both in the town. The youngsters these days want cheap bingo and not necessarily the traditional environment we have here.”

Walkers is open all week apart from Tuesday and Sunday afternoons.

Kim Lane, aged 37, is a caller at the hall but has now been made redundant.

Mrs Lane, who has two children and is expecting her third in June, said: “It is a terrible loss.“I don’t know how the customers and the staff will cope. We get the regulars in everyday and all that is going to be lost now.

“I have a family to support and I have no idea what to do next.”

Walkers is part of the chain of Top Ten bingo clubs. Mrs Toy said there were once 39 Top Ten clubs across the country, but that had now dropped to 32, with Wednesbury being the latest one to go.

The company declined to comment on the closure today.

The landmark building has been a fixture in Walsall Street since the early 20th century. It opened as The Picture House on March 25, 1915. In 1938 its name was changed to the Gaumont and in 1964 it became the Odeon.

It had another name change in the early 1970s when it became the Silver.

Councillor Bill Archer, Conservative member for Wednesbury North at Sandwell Council, said: “This is a beautiful historic building and I have many happy memories from the time that it was a cinema.

“It is a sad day for Wednesbury, to see another small operation like this closing its doors, but can see how it has happened with so much competition in the area.

“What we need to focus on now is protecting this historic building and getting it back into use.”