'I'll feel lonely and lost' if club for the deaf closes

"All my favourite people are here," said club member Brenda Maynard

A woman who has been part of a deaf club in Hampshire for 76 years has said she will feel "lonely and lost" if it closes down in February.

Portsmouth Deaf Club holds meetings in the city, at a centre owned by the Portsmouth Deaf Association, but the charity has said it is no longer viable to keep it open.

Brenda Maynard, 83, from Portchester, is one of about 50 members who attend the club to play cards, drink coffee and catch up.

The association said it was liaising with the club as it looked for other premises to keep it going.

Portsmouth Deaf Club began in 1934

The club began in 1934 and has held regular get-togethers at the deaf centre in Arundel Street since 1984.

Ms Maynard is profoundly deaf and uses British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate.

She has been a member since she was seven, and said "all my favourite people are here".

Another member, Debbie Hawkins, from Cosham, married her husband Steve at the centre and said the club was a lifeline for people with hearing loss.

"This community is very important. We have good relationships and care about each other," she said.

"It's a place where we can have conversations.

"Outside there are always barriers for deaf people. But not in here."

Anthony Miller, from Emsworth, a club member of 50 years, has been going to the club since he was 13 years old.

He said: "I worry about the future of the club if it closes. Where are my grandsons going to go?"

Debbie Hawkins from Cosham called the club a lifeline for people with hearing loss

Chair of Portsmouth Deaf Association David Jackson said as the number of deaf people using the centre continued to diminish, "its usage is now becoming limited".

"Sadly, these duties have resulted in the trustees having some very difficult discussions to make about the future of this charity and have come to a painful decision to close the Deaf Centre on [1February]."

The club members said it was "not just about cups of tea".

They also campaigned for years for BSL to gain formal legal recognition.

A fight they won after MPs backed the proposal and some of the club members travelled to Trafalgar Square in March 2022 to celebrate the new legislation.

The Portsmouth Deaf Club campaigned for years for BSL to gain formal legal recognition