NEW recruits are urgently needed to save a threatened village society which aims to conserve an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The Arnside Village Society is an independent environmental group that has been involved in a number of projects over its 18-year history to protect Arnside from over-development.

But the latest annual meeting of the society was attended by only slightly more than the minimum necessary of 20 people - although the society has more than 1,000 paid-up members.

People holding several key positions on the executive committee have retired or want to retire in the near future and no nominations for replacements for the posts were offered at the meeting.

The vacant positions include the chairman, vice chairman, secretary and assistant secretary.

Arnside Village Society chairman Dennis Bradbury, who has resigned after 18 years of service, said that despite the problems, the society would continue in a "mothballed" state with a skeleton body of six committee members.

Mr Bradbury said: "We need new blood such as younger retired people and we have been trying to get new people for a couple of years now.

He added: "The aim of the society is to protect the village from over-development.

"We live in an area of outstanding natural beauty and it needs protecting."

Anyone who is interested in becoming involved in Arnside Village Society should contact the group's assistant secretary David Smith on 01524-761853.