A TROWBRIDGE playgroup claims it will have to close after 30 years if a town church puts up its rent again.

St Thomas Pre-School has been based at St Thomas's church hall since the 1970s, but is now struggling to pay the £100 a week rent.

The next rent review is due in January, but the pre-school says it will be forced to close if the charge goes up again.

Pre-school chairman Kerstin Fox said: "We are just about keeping our head above water now.

"We pay £100 a week for two full days and two half days and we can just cover our rent and wages from our charges to parents.

"It means there is no money for anything else, and we have to raise money when we need new equipment, which is always a problem.

"We would desperately like to be able to move to somewhere cheaper."

She said the church hall has no safe outdoor play area for the 40 two-to-five-year-olds at the pre-school.

She said: "We are the oldest established playgroup in Trowbridge and it would be desperately sad to have to close, but we could be forced to do so.

"The rent goes up by 10 per cent every year, and if it goes up again in January it could be the end of us, as it will just be too much for us to cope with."

The Rev Alan Coutts, vicar of St Thomas's, said he was not aware of the pre-school's problems.

He said: "If there are problems, I would encourage them to come and discuss it with us.

"As far as I am concerned, I have a very good relationship with the pre-school."

He said the pre-school provided a valuable service and nobody wanted to see it close after 30 years.