MEMBERS of a Neath bingo club have been left devastated after the place they dubbed a "home from home" called 'house' for the last time on Sunday.

Empire Bingo in The Ropewalk held its final session on Valentine's Day, despite being given a temporary reprieve from its original closure date of last September.

One long-term member of the bingo club, Frank Thomas, said its closure was "the last nail in Neath's coffin".

"All the old people are disgusted," he said.

"The Empire was always a place where you could go for a laugh, a joke and a cheap night out," added 66-year-old Mr Thomas.

The school caretaker from Tonna said he was concerned about the loss of a place where people, both young and old, could meet up, and said he feared it would now be replaced by housing.

"That is the only thing that is going to be left in Neath," said Mr Thomas.

"It is getting to be a ghost town; there is nothing for the children or the old people," he added.

As the Post reported last August, news that the Empire Bingo hall, which is also home to a snooker club, was to close reduced members to tears.

Many of them have been members of Empire Bingo, which has been dubbed the Heart of Neath, for decades.

During last summer's shock announcement that it was to be axed, members were told the bingo hall's closure was due to a combination of factors including rising overheads and the impact of the smoking ban.

President of Neath Chamber of Trade, Keith Harding, said the closure was a loss to the town.

"It is a landmark which has been in Neath for so many years," he said. "It has been a central meeting place for a lot of people for the best part of their lives and that is the focal point for their social calendar for the week," said Mr Harding.

Neath councillor Mal Gunter, a former town and county mayor, agreed it was a sad day in Neath's history.

"It was more than a bingo hall, it was a community centre for friends who had been going there for many years," he said.

Councillor Gunter added: "It is an iconic building in the town and I can remember it as a child when it was a cinema."

A staff member at St Albans-based Top Ten Bingo Holdings, which owns the facility, confirmed previously the fact the hall was closing, but was unable to provide further information.

emma.denholm@swwmedia.co.uk