A MODEL railway club that has been in existence for nearly 40 years is under threat as land it uses could be sold for affordable housing.

The West Wiltshire Society of Model Engineers (WWSME) has been using land off Queen's Road in Westbury for its model railways since the early 1970s but the land is owned by West Wiltshire District Council.

The council is now in discussions with West Wiltshire Housing Society, which wants to buy the land and the club could find itself homeless.

A spokesman for the housing society said: "We are in very tentative early-stage discussions about buying the land.

"We are also talking to the society about re-homing them and we have made some progress towards finding them a suitable site."

Club secretary Nev Boulton said: "The council and the potential developers are being very nice.

"They are helping us to look for a potential site. We are desperate for a new track site because this one could be destroyed."

The club rents about half an acre of land from the council and has about 60ft of steel track running around it.

"It could take a few years to put that together again. We are really hoping that the people who buy it will provide us with a new track site and help us move it because it is heavy and skilful work and most of our members are older people."

The problems being faced by the club is one reason Mr Boulton has decided he will not be running train rides to see Father Christmas on the track in his own garden in Bulkington.

He was run the rides for the past three years, bringing the Christmas spirit to youngsters as well as raising funds for the hall.

Staff and locomotives are provided by the club, however, and this will not happen this year.

Mr Boulton said problems with lighting mean he can't run the trips after dark anyway and the need for the rides has also ended as the village hall has now been completely refurbished.

"It is a shame but we weren't going to carry on forever and the main reason was to raise money for the hall."

Mr Boulton still plans to offer rides to local schoolchildren during the day. For more information on the WWSME and on the search for new land visit www.wwsme.co.uk or call Mr Boulton on (01380) 828101.