ENRAGED volunteers ‘occupied’ Hammersmith Information Centre this week as they refused to let council officers shut its doors for the last time.

Users armed with placards held a sit-in on Tuesday (31) in an attempt to foil the efforts of removal men trying to empty the premises in Hammersmith Broadway.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council announced last year it would shut the centre, but some felt the authority never fully justified its reasons for closure - so when the day came, the volunteers refused to hand back the keys.

As the centre is run entirely by unpaid staff, the demonstrators claim the closure does not make sense as running costs are minimal, while it provides much needed community space and is a useful tool for visiting tourists.

Centre user Gwen Cook said: “The Hammersmith Information and Visitor Centre has served the borough for many years.

“During that time it has hosted new community organisations and helped them to grow, it has provided a resource for small unfunded local groups to meet.

“Above all it has served as an information and visitor centre helping visitors and residents to find their way around the borough.

"In this Olympic and royal jubilee year, many more visitors are expected in the borough.

"Is it a good idea therefore to close the only place visitors can go to get information and help in this vast city of ours?"

The council claim that the centre has become obsolete and is an unnecessary cost for taxpayers to incur.

The building will be returned to the landlord, commercial property firm BTWShiells.

Deputy council leader Nick Botterill said: "In these tough economic times, taxpayers do not expect to be paying upwards of £40,000 a year for an underused information centre that attracts low visitor numbers.

"Information on events in Hammersmith and Fulham are now widely available on the internet, including the council's website, which provides listings on the borough's activities.

"In today's modern world, with so much information easily available on mobile devices like phones, continuing to fund an outdated visitors' centre no longer makes sense financially."

The council was negotiating with users over the return of the keys at the time of going to press.