PENSIONERS have sounded a battle cry over plans to close Micklefield Library and one man has penned a poem about it.

Elderly people living close to the threatened Micklefield Road library see the building not only as a place to borrow books, but also as a community hub where people meet and find out what's going on.

Walter Brind, 81, of Micklefield Road, is so passionate about the library he wrote a poem about how much it means to him.

Part of the verse reads: "It is not only a place for books to lend.

"It is a very good place where you can meet a friend, "It is also where local information can be found, "And there is always a person when you come around."

Mr Brind has been a regular visitor to the library since it opened its doors in the early 1950s. But now the building may close after Bucks County Council chiefs claimed it was under-used and expensive to maintain. It is one of eight threatened libraries in Bucks.

Mr Brind said: "It is more than a library. It is a community place because the old people in the area can't get into town so they say shall we go to the library?' "It is exercise for them and they can meet their friends there and have a chat."

Mr Brind thinks the loss of the library would be a blow to the elderly community of Micklefield because they have nowhere else to go.

He said: "It is almost like a club where people get together.

"There is nothing else like that around. The library is the only place in Micklefield where we can get all the community news about Micklefield."

He added: "It is silly to have the library in High Wycombe where nobody lives, we need to go where our friends are."

The library crusader has been a key member of the group trying to save the library and backs Midweek's Don't Take The Mick campaign, aimed at saving the valuable resource.

The campaign group was due to have another strategy meeting on Sunday evening.