More than 150 Royal British Legion members in Calne will lose their club in Church Street after their bid to buy the building fell through.

The legion has been waiting for 11 months to get the go-ahead from the Charity Commission to be able to buy the building from Calne Conservative Club.

The Grade Two listed building was to be sold to the Legion for £225,000 and renovation plans, which were drawn up two years ago, were set to give the site a £350,000 overhaul.

But on Friday it was announced that the Royal British Legion Finance Committee has rejected the purchase.

Conservative Club Treasurer Rod Pottow says he is disappointed at the news, which would have saved the club from financial trouble.

He said: "We have been kept hanging for two years and have lost thousands of pounds in subscriptions and private functions because we thought we wouldn't be there."

The club has spent in excess of £20,000 while it waited for 17 months for the legion to take over the building.

Mr Pottow said: "Legion head office have treated us with contempt and we won't just accept it."

The building will be closed from Saturday and sold off in a public auction to settle the Conservative Club's debts.

Calne councillor and the legion's county vice chair John Ireland says he is distraught at the news.

Coun Ireland said: "The management has acted in the most disgraceful and disgusting fashion.

"They had the most marvellous opportunity to put the legion back into the community and they have thrown that away."

The club, which has a waiting list of 1,000 members, was set up more than 80 years ago.

Despite the new ownership, the building was going to remain a meeting place for the Conservative Club as well as the Royal Navy Association.

A spokesman for the Royal British Legion said: "After careful consideration of the financial implications the trustees have been unable to proceed with the purchase of Calne Conservative Club on the basis that the investment required would be in excess of the valuation of the property after the investment.

"The trustees considered that the risk to charitable funds was too great for it to be an appropriate investment."