Volunteers who run Chippenham Toy Library have appealed for help to find the service a new home.

The library, which was set up in 1976, rents space at Parklands sheltered housing scheme on Malmesbury Road.

But Westlea Housing Association is closing the housing scheme, which is says is outdated, and has told the library it must find a new home by September 30.

Now chairman Abby Adamczuk is appealing to Gazette readers for help to find a new home for the toy library.

It runs in a similar way to a book library, but hands out toys, games and puzzles instead of books, She said: “We are really, really desperate to find somewhere else to go.”

“If we don’t find suitable premises by then I will be left with no alternative but to close the toy library.

She added: “I see closure as a last resort but it is proving very difficult to find what we need as a price we can afford.

“The library is a very popular and well used service reaching families in Chippenham, the surrounding area and as far as Malmesbury.”

Mum Caren Horton uses the library for her three-year- old son Phoenix.

She said: “If we were to lose the service, it would be incredibly disappointing for the children.

“It’s like a treat for them each month to come down and choose new toys. It’s like Christmas, they love it.”

Mum Lucy Whitfield, who takes her three-year-old daughter Verity to the library, said: “It would definitely be a big loss if the library were to close.

“It’s a really useful resource. When Verity was very little we borrowed a Jumparoo baby exerciser which was great because it was too big for us to keep in the house permanently.”

She said that, because children grow so quickly, it was useful to borrow toys for a short time.

A Westlea Housing Association spokesman said that residents have gradually been moving to new accommodation of their choice since 2007. Almost all had gone, with much support from Westlea and other agencies, including Age Concern.

“As a local organisation with a strong community focus, Westlea is supporting efforts to find the toy library a new home,” he said.

Picture caption: from left, Jani and Maia Loikkanen, Karen and Horton and Phoenix, Becky Rice-Chandler and Phoenix, Jen Firth and Millie Rice-Chandler, Lucy Whitfield, Laura Wright, Abi Adamczuk with Faye and Rhys, Beccy and Charlotte Young. Front, Verity Hodges, Theo Frith and Rhys Adamczuk (32301/3) di vose