Summit due on future of Kristian Thomas' gym club

Crunch talks will be held with council bosses in a bid to secure the future of a gymnastics club that started an Olympic medallist on his road to glory, it was revealed today.

The Earls Gymnastics Club in Halesowen is struggling to make ends meet and it receives no funding from Dudley Council or sports bodies. The council said last week that it was "limited" in ways it could help.

But club chairman John Caulwell is meeting with officers this week to discuss what can be done.

Kristian Thomas, of Wed-nesfield, trains at the club two or three times a week and scooped bronze in the team event at London 2012.

Mr Caulwell said: "We are in discussions with Dudley Council about any ways they can help us out. The Olympics have given us some common ground to work on in the hope they will be able to assist.

"The council needs to ask whether it wants the legacy of London 2012 to be that an Olympic medallist-producing club has to close down.

"We are not looking for millions and it would be very said if we went under when we are just asking for a few thousand pounds to help us out." The club, which has about 400 members, pays £28,500 a year in rent to Earls High School.

Dudley Council used to pay to run the club but withdrew funding in 2000, Mr Caulwell said, and parachute payments to help it keep going stopped in 2007.

The "high performance" coaches, who usually focus on elite gymnasts, are having to lead recreational classes after jobs were cut.

There are currently five international competitors training at the club along with Kristian, including reigning Commonwealth youth champion Dominick Cunningham, 17, and Mr Caulwell's 13-year-old son, Harry, who is a member of the Great Britain squad.