Ref. 75667-15OLD friends fear they may never see each other again as a group when the axe falls on a daycare centre used by 360 elderly people.

Swindon Council plan to close the Gerring Unit in Cricklade Road, Gorse Hill, by the end of March and transfer users to other facilities around the town.

The decision, which was made to pave the way for a new development, has angered pensioners who say they don't want to leave a building "full of memories".

Bill Cole, of Gay's Place, Upper Stratton, who has been attending the Gerring Unit every Thursday since 1997, said the friends he had met kept him going.

"I try to keep a sense of humour but I can only keep it if I see people," he said.

"Sometimes going to the centre is my only chance to get out and I would hate to lose some of the friends I have made."

The 78-year-old, who had a stroke in 1994, relied more heavily on his new pals following the death of his wife, Vera.

"I can make new friends but I don't think some people will cope with the strain," said the former bus conductor who could know join others in a protest against the decision.

Staff will be redeployed after the closure but one worker, who did not wish to be named, said she was more worried about the health of the users than job security. "I think the closure will have a dreadful impact some of them (the pensioners) could die because of this," she said.

"This is such a happy place and it's so spacious. I know the building's old but all we need is another toilet and new windows."

Ian Dobie, lead member for social services, said the centre, which used to be an isolation hospital, was being closed and demolished because it was outdated.

"We are modernising the care facilities for the elderly in Swindon and this site is not suitable for the kind of services we want to offer," he said.

"The needs of everybody who uses the centre will be assessed and we hope to provide them with a place close to their homes.

"Obviously, we will be sensitive to their needs and we will try to keep groups of friends together."

Consultants are assessing the whole of the site on behalf of the council, including the building used by Clapham Hobbs a daycentre for the disabled to determine its future.

But local authority-owned facilities in the area, known as Hawthorn, could be bulldozed to make way for a new development, possibly houses.

Ben Payne