A DARTS academy which issued an SOS call after its premises were shut down is seeking assistance to help it continue its legacy in a new home.

The St Helens Darts Academy, which has had more than 50 five to 18-year-olds attend every week, was forced to look for a new home after the closure of Our Lady's Club, in Parr.

Urgently needing a new venue and financial help, the group was offered a lifeline and was able to quickly relocate into the Sidac Club, Sutton Leach.

Secretary of the organisation Karl Holden says the group is still looking for sponsorship and help following the financial cost of the move.

"We had made Our Lady's into probably one of the best darts venues in the country and we had just paid £150 to decorate the room and then the week after they tell us it is shutting," he said.

"We've probably lost £500 and spent £200 and we still need some help with a bit of sponsorship."

The hasty move has seen 14 dart boards set up at Sidac and hours of evening-time work to get the venue ready ahead of its next meeting on Monday evening (February 1).

"It's been a massive effort and I'm feeling tired now! People have been asking if they could help, it's been a great effort.

"All our main committee work through the day and we got a lot of work done on Monday night."

The academy has played its part in helping maintain the town's reputation as a darts hotbed, recently bolstered by several local players competing at the top of the professional game, including the likes of Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith.

"We've had up to 130 different kids over the past two years," added Karl.

"Darts is massive in the town, we've got two lads in the Premier League this year and apart from rugby league it gives our town more publicity than anything.

"Every darts session is a hive of activity, with the children split into different age categories plus an elite group age 10 to 13 to make the matches more even.

"Each group plays their own competition plus once a month we hold a trophy night.

"We have had so many famous people down to watch our events, including the mayor, Dave Chisnall, Stephen Bunting, two-times ladies world champion Lisa Ashton and Michael Smith has been probably more than 20 times.

"The academy has become so popular that last week we 63 children and 40 adults, ironically just days after we had been notified that Our Lady’s Club is being closed down. I didn't think we'd find a place as good as Sidac and I'm pretty excited. It's a great venue."

The academy's next meeting is on Monday, February 1 with doors open from 6pm.

To get in touch with the academy visit the 'St Helens Darts Academy' Facebook page or follow @DartsAcademySTH on Twitter. Alternatively email dartsacademysthelens@outlook.com or call 01744-739119 or 077910-37948.