VOLUNTEERS and users of the Frank Reynolds Centre have celebrated a community building that has stood the test of time.

The Broadwey building hosted a special event to mark the 75th anniversary of the opening of the community centre.

Secretary of the centre's trustees Sam Hoskins said: "We held a reception to celebrate the occasion and the fact the place is still going.

"We invited a representative or leader from each of the groups that use the building.

"It's basically a village hall, we hire out space and facilities for community activities.

"We have five table tennis teams that use the centre, two snooker teams, a social club with a licensed bar and we also hire out space for things like art classes and lip-reading classes."

The building in Dorchester Road has always been used as a community base and during the Second World War it housed evacuees from London.

It was initially called the Frank Reynolds Memorial Insititute, after a local shopkeeper who left £2,000 in his will for a community building to be constructed, and was renamed as the Frank Reynolds Community Centre in 1994.

The centre is funded and run by volunteers, headed by the three trustees, Mr Hoskins, treasurer Peter Illsley and chairman Trevor Buckley.

Last year the centre received a grant of around £6,000 from the National Lottery for new windows and refurbishing work.

The fund was also boosted by a £1,000 donation from a bridge club which uses the centre.

Mr Hoskins said: "Because we are a village hall we offer a licensed bar on the premises and all profits from the social club bar come back into the building. We also have facilities for hire if other people want to use it for classes."