Members of a Beccles social club have voted to disaffiliate from the Royal British Legion (RBL).
The vote was cast at a Special General Meeting of the Beccles RBL Social Club last week, with 85pc - 146 out of 172 members - voting in favour of the move. The ballot required 130 votes for disaffiliation to be approved.
The vote was called after members said they needed to protect the future of the club, however some felt the long-running partnership with the RBL should continue.
The club will now disaffiliate as soon as the decision is formally recognised by the RBL.
Zane Blanchard, club secretary, said: 'The committee would like to thank all the members who voted - however they voted. We hope that all of our current members will continue to use the club and that we will now go from strength to strength as our membership increases.
'The new social club committee will do everything in their power to make the club an unqualified success and to ensure that it may serve the needs of its members and the people of Beccles for years to come. We wish to become a community hub for as many charitable and other organisations within the town as possible.
'We will continue to welcome all the Forces organisations and the RBL branch may still hold their meetings at the club if they so wish.'
The count of sealed ballot papers was conducted by three independent scrutineers from the community and votes were counted in the presence of some 50 members of the club as well as a National RBL representative and two RBL County officials and the chairman and secretary of the Beccles RBL branch.
The club will be renamed The Fox and Hounds Social Club, named after The Fox and Hounds Inn which was the original name of the Ravensmere building during the 17th century.
New members are able to join the club on payment of a temporary membership fee of £3 to last until the club's standard membership renewal date in October, when the annual membership fee will be £10.
The Beccles RBL branch said it did not wish to comment on the vote at this time.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here