By SUZANNE ELSWORTH

URGENT action is needed to prevent a financial crisis which could see the end of the Warrington Wolves.

And town leaders are urging the people of Warrington to pull together to prevent the demise of the 121-year-old club. The decision to hold a public inquiry into plans to build a new stadium and Tesco Extra store will stall massive investment which is the club's only chance of survival.

Now the GUARDIAN is launching a campaign to throw the stricken club a lifeline. We will be sending out hundreds of petitions and putting posters in homes and businesses across the town, and asking whether ratepayers' cash should be used.

Private donations could also get the club back on its feet.

Just £600,000 would secure its future for the next 12 months, so if around a third of the 190,000 people living in this town donated £10, the club's financial problems would be solved.

If the Wolves fail because of the delay caused by the public inquiry, it would mean the loss of part of the town's heritage, a sports club Warrington can be proud of and a valuable community facility. Super League status would also be lost, opening the way for other clubs such as Widnes, widely seen as the prime contender to take the Wolves' place who boast the grand, recently-built Autoquest Stadium.

When the stadium plans went before the development control committee of Warrington Borough Council in August, hundreds of fans stood on the Town Hall lawn to show their support for the 'Say Yes to the Stadium' campaign.

And club bosses say they are hoping for even more support now.

Chief executive Andy Gatcliffe said: "This is what the majority of people want and I am absolutely confident that the stadium will go ahead.

"If the 'Say Yes' campaign was so successful we can do it again.

"I would ask people to come and experience the Wolves. Attend a game if they have never done so before, look at the community involvment, look at the children's faces as they come out of the Wolf Den. Look at the big picture."