A West Midland day care centre that provides a vital lifeline to 50 elderly people is to close next month, it has emerged.

The British Red Cross, which runs the centre, has delivered a letter to users of the Streetly Day Care Centre, founded in the 1970s, telling them it will close at the end of September.

The Blackwood Road centre is the only relief for some housebound OAPs where they get to share a meal with pals and play darts, cards and other games. It is run by the British Red Cross, which is contracted to provide day care services at the site by Walsall Council. However, the council is pulling the plug on funding the centre.

An emergency meeting has now been called for tomorrow night for members who want to fight the closure.

Mary Longdon, aged 77, who attends the centre and is angry at plans to axe the venue next month, said: “I am disabled and if I don’t have this centre I will go from morning until night without seeing another living soul.

“I have been going there for the past five years and have got to know everyone really well, but there have been a lot who have been going much longer than me. I am one of the younger ones. There are those in their 90s who use it.”

A letter sent to members by Caroline Leighton, operations director for British Red Cross, said: “Currently day care services in Walsall are undersubscribed and there are a considerable number of vacancies in all centres. There are too many day services in the area and the council wish to consolidate the service to enable better use of resources.

“In light of this and the council’s targets for efficiency savings, they are unable to continue to fund the Streetly Day Centre after September 30. Therefore, we have no option but to close the service by that date and our last day will be on September 29.”