Gargrave Cricket Club could go bust after 250 tonnes of water leaked out from underneath the pavilion.

Members were oblivious to the leak until it was discovered by chance two weeks ago.

Now the club is facing a bill running into thousands of pounds after Yorkshire Water revealed that 2,400 units of water had been lost from a corroded pipe. Each unit costs 96p.

Trustees of the Gargrave Sports Association, a registered charity set up a year ago to oversee the finances of the cricket and football teams, are now waiting to hear whether the water company will waive 80 per cent of the fee.

In the meantime the leak has been bypassed so the club has water and estimates are being sought to renew the corroded pipe.

Club secretary Ray Jones said: "If all the bill fell to the cricket club, it will bankrupt us instantly. We are urgently seeking assistance from Craven Council and other charities."

Trustees are hoping Yorkshire Water will waive most of the fee.

However, the sports association is still faced with high costs after technical experts were drafted in to locate the source of the leak and stop the wastage.

Mr Jones added: "As trustees we are having to find the money.

"If the bill arrives and they have waived 80 per cent it is still going to cost us getting on for £1,000.

"It's a very serious problem. We have got to try to raise the money the best we can."

Mr Jones explained that the leak was detected around two weeks ago after a colleague heard the noise of running water and thought the roof was leaking.

Despite turning off the water supply, the noise could still be heard and when they looked at the water meter alarm bells began ringing.

Mr Jones said: "To say he had a shock is an understatement.

"The meter showed that three to four thousand pounds worth of water had disappeared. It was disappearing at an alarming rate."

Technical experts were quickly drafted in to find the source of the leak. They discovered a pipe had corroded under the pavilion, which was built in 1956.

Mr Jones said the leak was made more difficult to detect because drainage at the site was very good, allowing all the water to run straight down.

He added: "We were wondering where the 250 tonnes of water had gone. We were expecting the pavilion to capsize!"

The hefty bill came as a double blow to the association, which is trying to raise much-needed funds to improve facilities at the cricket and football clubs.

Mr Jones explained: "People have a right to expect decent facilities.

" We have a real problem in the area. To get major finance for small sports clubs is a real battle. It is getting harder and harder to sustain the grass roots level."

The club is also trying to raise cash to repair rotten woodwork on the pavilion's windows and doors.

"Looking after those facilities is an expensive job. At the moment we are putting together a project to deal with a lot of these deficiencies," said Mr Jones.

The cricket club's sewage system also needs replacing.

Despite these hindrances Mr Jones said the club was looking forward to the new season.

He added that the progress of the junior players in the winter nets had been encouraging.

No-one was available to comment from Yorkshire Water.