SAVING Llanwern Sports and Social Club is more than just a job for Rhys Williams - he is committed heart and soul to the fight.

Consultant Mr Williams, the son of an Abertillery miner, offered his services to the club when he discovered Corus planned to close it.

He is convinced they can win the battle to save the club on both moral and legal grounds.

"We have every chance to win. I firmly believe we have every chance to succeed and keep the club open. We are examining several options."

Mr Williams, of Factotum Consulting, Monmouth, is one of a team of people working to save the club.

"We think the club has a solid future. We firmly believe that the club is viable - it is sound financially and has excellent prospects for the future and for the expansion of its membership base," he said.

"The closure of the club is unconscionable. Corus has no moral right to look to develop this ground under any circumstances.

"The ground was given to the company for a nominal fee by the old Christchurch ward of Newport borough council."

It was intended to be used for sports and social facilities for the workers of Llanwern and the community that surrounded it, said Mr Williams. He believes there are legal grounds and planning issues to fight the closure.

Land between the club and the nearby retail park was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

"We are designated as an environmental space and any application for development would be implacably resisted by ourselves, by Newport councillors and by the MPs.

"The club has a significance beyond the sports side, it has a social significance for the five estates that surround it. They are deprived areas with relatively high unemployment and this club is very important in a social context."

This is not the first time that Mr Williams has helped to take on a big business threatening a club with closure.

"I've been involved in a similar thing before with the TI Group in Gloucester. It was a bigger club than this with 17,000 members on three different sites."

Mr Williams again acted as consultant in a protracted fight which ended successfully with a negotiated settlement.

All three sites remained open and the company built a new clubhouse in exchange for the loss of some football pitches.

He is currently helping the club put together a business plan for the future which they intend to put to Corus.

"We will discuss the club's perception of its position and how best we can all go forward, hopefully together. We are not seeking confrontation."