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Rutland County Council Leader Lucy Stephenson has defended the closure of Catmose Sports Centre in Oakham.

The centre's staff are set to be laid off at the end of March and the centre will close to the public - after it was announced that Rutland County Council couldn't find a new operator for it.

The authority's been looking for a company that'll run it at no cost to the council, but no-one's come forward to do it.

Since the closure was announced at the end of last week, we've had loads of messages from the centre's users, who've been telling us how important it is to them, their clubs and societies and the wider population of Rutland. An online petition to keep Catmose Sports Centre in Rutland open to the public has already been signed by hundreds of people.

Andrea Gordon-Kerr is a founder member, from when the Centre opened in 2011. She was surprised when she heard it was to close.