FURIOUS parents are trying to save Cradley Heath and Old Hill Children's Centre after finding out it will close in the spring.

Sandwell Council will not be renewing the lease in March on the Valley Road building which houses the popular centre which provides vital services for the community.

Parents, who take their children to various groups and healthcare sessions, were left bereft when told of the planned closure.

Hannah Stafford, a Cradley Heath parent and volunteer at the centre, said: "The centre is really popular and there is no need to close it down.

"It's a place where families can go for advice and support and where children can learn and develop and prepare for the next stage in their lives.

"It would be a major downfall for the local community if the centre was to close."

Katie Harris, a mother from Cradley Heath, said: "I use the children's centre every week, the kids, and parents benefit from this centre, these early years, having fun and experiencing life and meeting people is really important.

"If councils were not so incompetent maybe we would not be losing all the services over the West Midlands like leisure centres, museums, libraries, children's centres.

"I would laugh about all the talk of making Britain great again, if it wasn't so tragic. "

Mother Laura Farley added: "I have three children who will be extremely sad to see such an important service closed.

"Since September we have seen a steady reduction in the number of services offered and opening hours have been reduced.

"We were assured by management that they were not going to close the centre but now it seems our concerns were justified."

She added: "Without easy access to the fortnightly baby clinic, I worry that many vulnerable children and parents will slip through the net and not get the help they need."

Councillor Simon Hackett, cabinet member for children’s services promised services would still be available for Cradley Heath families.

He said: "I want to reassure parents and carers these services are not going, we are just looking for somewhere else to run the children's centre from.

"Massive government cuts have meant we need to look carefully at our budgets and paying high rent is simply not the best use of our money. With lower running costs we would hope to run better services for families in the area from an alternative building."

He added: "I will be meeting with parents and carers to reassure them the children's centre will continue to operate. I will discuss with parents where the centre should be located to enable them to continue to benefit from the valuable services they currently get at Cradley Heath Children’s Centre."