THE Townswomen's Guild in Pershore has separated from the National Townswomen's Guild and become an independent group because of rising affiliation fees.

Group spokeswoman Lesley Botterill said they were told last summer that the annual subscription to the guild would rise from £13 to £20.

She said the Pershore group held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the legal implications of going solo and members voted almost unanimously in favour.

Mrs Botterill added that a talk by the national secretary at their last meeting did little to convince them to stay within the organisation.

"We are quite a large guild, we have 83 members, so to lose us is quite a lump," she said. "But we did feel cut off from the federation - the headquarters are in Hereford and if we wanted to take part in competitions or quizzes with other groups, we would always have to travel the furthest."

She said the Pershore Townswomen's Guild, which has been running for 16 years, will be re-named Pershore Ladies' Guild and will have an annual subscription this year of £12.

They will continue with activities in the local area, including quizzes, scrabble, rambling, skittles, drama and choir groups and raising money for charities.

Diane Calvert, chief executive officer of the National Townswomen's Guild, said the decision to increase subscription fees was taken by regional delegates representing guild members across the country.

She said over the last ten years, fees had not been increased in line with inflation or the needs of the Guild and the effects of September 11 had damaged their investment portfolio.

"We are desperately sorry to lose the Pershore guild but some members are paying individual membership to stay affiliated with the national movement," she said.

The group will officially leave the National Townswomen's Guild on January 31 and will hold their first meeting as Pershore Ladies' Guild at Wulstan Hall on February 3 at 2pm.