Fears have been raised over the future of a popular playscheme

Craigend Resource Centre organises the holiday camp at King's Oak Primary because there's not enough room in the centre itself.

This year has been the first time organisers have had to pay £800 for the hire of the school - and they say these extra costs will have an impact in the future.

Brian Power, centre co-ordinator, said: "We try to keep the cost down for parents but we might be forced to hike the price up or look at different options."

Mr Power says they didn't know about the cost until they submitted their application for a let.

He said: "It's one of the most popular playschemes.

"We don't want to take it away from the east end."

The sessions run for three weeks and cost £1 a day with a free lunch.

Craigend, like other playschemes, receives a £5,000 grant from Inverclyde Council.

But Mr Power says £4,500 of this went on paying staff and the extra cost for the school meant they were out of pocket by £300 before they started.

They also fundraise to try to meet the costs.

He said: "We had 70 kids every week and we could have taken on another 10 if we hadn't had to pay the hall hire.

"Other playschemes get the grant but they don't have to pay to rent a hall because they have big enough premises."

Craigend currently subsidise the cost of away day trips for kids but they may also be forced to rethink this too.

He said: "We are keeping the kids off the street and out of trouble.

"We're also trying to take pressure off parents."

A spokesman for Inverclyde Council said: "The council gives Craigend playscheme a grant of £5,000 to support the delivery of the playscheme for young people.

"This more than outweighs the cost of the hire of the school."