A SEA cadet unit going for almost 40 years is urgently calling for volunteers to join its management board as a "last resort" to save it from closure.

The cadet unit in Royal Wootton Bassett, which promotes outdoor and community activities for young people, is holding an emergency meeting next month to find volunteers to join its management team, following the death of its chairman Duncan Wostenholm last year.

A letter sent to members explained it had been operating with "minimal volunteer numbers" and needed a management team in place to keep its charity status.

It added: "Should a full management team not be formed following this meeting, the unit will be at risk of closure. I'm sure you will agree the closure of the Sea Cadet Unit would be a great loss not only to the local community but most of all, the cadets who attend."

Craig Girling-Jones, volunteer and business support manager for the charity across the South West, added: "Fundraising is not a problem," he said, "or a concern with the business running, it's simply that to be constitutional we need to have a governing board to continue into the future.

"There are a lot of community people in Royal Wootton Bassett and it's always really supportive of the Sea Cadets, but it needs them to really step forward.

"The aim of the sea scouts is to give young people the best start in life and to create good citizens by giving them opportunities which they wouldn't normally have in their daily lives."

The meeting is on March 21, at 7pm, at the Jubilee Lake Sea Cadet building on Brinkworth Road.