A LONG-standing basketball centre is hoping to net support to buy the land it sits on.

Hoops Basketball Centre in Barrow has started a Crowdfunder and need the public's help in order to save the land as recreational space.

The site near Cliff Lane has existed since 1998 after it was constructed with a grant from the National Lottery and has been widely used as a community resource since then.

Although there is no immediate threat to the land-use - with 27 years left on the lease - the land is going up for auction on November 17 and Hoops has started a Crowdfunder in order to buy the land themselves.

Hoops operates under the supervision of a Board of Trustees who are all local volunteers connected in some way to the different groups who use the facility.

A spokesman from the centre said on the Crowdfunder: "What happens in 27 years’ time is unlikely to affect the current trustees but we all feel a moral obligation to do whatever we can to secure the long-term future of Hoops for generations of local sports people and to maintain the land around it for sport and recreation.

"The best way for us to do that is to try and purchase the land at auction. As the landowners, we would have control over the land and what is or is not built upon it.

"It secures the building for many years to come and provides the opportunity to develop it for further sporting use in the future.

"We cannot do this alone; we simply do not have the resources. So, we find ourselves turning to you, the community, for help through this Crowdfunding campaign. Together, we believe it is possible.

"Any funding raised is purely for this purpose, we have no intention of using donations towards ongoing running costs, that’s not what we’re about. Our only aim is to safeguard the long-term future of the centre and the land.

"In the event that we are unsuccessful we intend to refund all our supporters."

The fundraising page currently has more than £640 in donations and if you want to support the cause then go to their Crowdfunder page.