THE last pints were pulled amid a mood of sadness, as time was finally called at a York club.

Today the remaining traces of Layerthorpe Working Men's Club were being removed from the building in Little Hallifield Road, after Tadcaster brewery John Smith's Ltd sold the building to Leeds-based firm JTM Developments.

They are expected to move in soon to redevelop the site.

About 100 members of the club, which has a total membership of 400, spent their last evening there, the farewell drinks accompanied by a buffet and a karaoke machine.

The secretary of the club, Ann Barker, was a member of the club for 30 years and is left without a job. She said she believed a carpet firm was moving on to the site.

Last night she said: "Everyone is just looking at each other. No-one can believe it's the last night. It's the end of an era and the end of a centre for the community.

"I feel very emotional, lots of members of this community are losing out."

The club was established 92 years ago and has spent nearly 30 in the present building.

Eddie Senior, of Tang Hall Lane, used the club for more than 40 years. He said: "I'm very disappointed. I think John Smith's have sold us down the road. We have worked hard for the past two years to get the club back on its feet and now they have pulled the plug."

The building was sold two weeks ago. Members were given the news at a heated meeting, from which the Evening Press was ejected by representatives of John Smith's, the owners of the building.

At that meeting Graham Sykes, recoveries manager for the brewery, told the meeting that the building was sold on August 10 after the club had accrued £175,000 debt.

One member, Gordon Harrison, even offered to buy the building when he learned that it was being sold.

Six months ago members were congratulated on their success in reviving Layerthorpe WMC, which went into receivership in 1999.

At the time they were promised that plans to sell up had been dropped.

The club is only a couple of hundred metres from the Frog Hall pub, in Layerthorpe. Developers plan to pull it down at the end of the year and replace it with a McDonalds drive-through restaurant and a video store.

The plans have sparked massive opposition, headed by an Evening Press campaign.

Updated: 10:00 Tuesday, September 18, 2001