ONE of Bolton's oldest cricket clubs is asking members to stump up £40,000 for work to a bridge -- or risk losing its land.

More than 300 members of Bradshaw Cricket Club are now being approached to take out large loans to pay for the repair bill on a bridge leading to the private ground.

Watson's Steel came to the rescue by agreeing to repair the bridge at cost price.

But the Bolton firm, which helped to build the Millennium Dome, has still not been paid for fixing the bridge, which spans Bradshaw Brook.

James Nesbit, club president, said: "If we don't get the £40,000, then we'll have to mortgage the land and that is something we don't want.

"It is private land, one of the only private pitches in Bolton.

"We have been asking members to donate £50 or get a loan for £1,000."

The bridge, built in 1911, was reported to have been "ready to fall in the river" and traffic had been banned -- preventing events at the cricket pavilion.

Mr Nesbit said: "We would like to thank Watson's Steel for the repairs and club members for their support.

"It is a worrying time and £40,000 is a big bill to be landed with.

"We don't want to close, but neither do we want to mortgage off the land."

Vandals added to the club's financial headache by destroying their toilets.

Mr Nesbit, a retired teacher who once built his own bungalow in Hillside Avenue, Bromley Cross attracting national acclaim, rebuilt the toilets himself -- saving the club £5,000.