The future of one of the oldest Girlguiding units in the area is at risk unless new volunteers are found to take over the leadership roles.

The 1st Caister Guides current leadership duo of Nicola Hollowell and Kay Rose are leaving their posts at the end of December.

Miss Hollowell, 28, has been involved at the unit for nearly 12 years but, despite enjoying her time there, can no longer dedicate enough time to the cause.

She said: 'I have definitely enjoyed my time here, in fact I was a guide here when I was younger before taking over the unit when I turned 16 after completing my leadership qualification.

'The other reason I decided to stay was to keep it from closing at the time, just like the situation is now, because I understood how valuable it was to the local girls.'

The unit opened in the 1950s as there was no group nearby at the time and is aimed at girls aged between 10 and 14.

Currently there are around 10 members of the Holy Trinity Guides but numbers have reached 30 in previous years.

As a member of the unit the girls take part in a number of different activities such as arts and crafts, cooking and visiting a number of community events as they look to earn their badges at the unit.

Miss Hollowell explained: 'The main aim of the unit is to achieve what are called 'interest Badges'. These are badges given to the girls after weeks of working towards them and they cover a massive area.

'They include Animal Active, where they have to look after a pet for so long and learn about its needs, or First Aid badge where they have to learn basis First Aid. We have done cooking badges, camping, performance art badges, fund-raising silences, fashion shows, cook out BBQs, cinema trips, bowling, fire safety, detective nights and making a movie night,'

With the current leadership duo set to leave the unit needs somebody new to come forward and take over their roles.

Miss Hollowell said: 'If nobody is found then the unit will close which will be a real shame. It gives girls in the village and the surrounding areas somewhere to go and lets them get involved in some great activities.

'The girls would need to travel over to Martham or Great Yarmouth for their nearest unit which could mean that some are unable to get there, and there will be other girls in the villages around us that choose against getting involved.'

The group meets at Caister High School every Tuesday night between 7pm and 8.30pm during school term time.

The new leaders would need to be able to commit to the weekly meeting, planning each term's activities from week to week and also to keeping the group's finance in check.

'Anybody who wants to get involved in the local youth community and who is an enthusiastic person should definitely get in contact about the positions. 'We are looking for people with fresh ideas and who wants to take the group forward in the next few years.'

Anybody interested in taking over the leadership roles should contact Miss Hollowell on 01493 657039 during weekday evenings.