THOUSANDS of people, including a Premier League star, have united to oppose a council's "criminal" decision to evict a football club from its ground.

Almondsbury Parish Council (APC) has ordered Hallen AFC to hand over the keys to the Hallen Centre after the two failed to agree a lease for the site, which also houses the village's community centre.

Hallen said the council was demanding too much in rent which, along with extra costs needed for repairs, made the price beyond the club's means.

APC has given Hallen until Sunday to hand over the keys after which the club will be homeless and probably forced to fold.

As well as the two senior and five children's football teams, the centre in Moorhouse Lane is also used by cricket and skittles clubs, the village’s Autumn Club for over 60s, and hosts the annual Hallen Horticultural Show – and all these groups will now be homeless.

The council has refused to explain what it plans to do with the centre, but has insisted that the site will not be sold for development.

More than 3,500 people have signed a petition opposing the closure of the centre and, after seeing a Hallen AFC tweet, Crystal Palace footballer Yannick Bolasie urged his Twitter followers to join the campaign.

"I'm disappointed to see this club being treated like this! RT to help save their future," he tweeted.

While the grandson of the founder of Hallen AFC called the council's decision "criminal" and said his grandfather would be "turning in his grave".

Daniel Smith, whose grandfather Frank Fairman started the club 66 years ago, said: "I remember helping to build the stand with my grandfather when I was 15 and to see it torn down is criminal.

“The council’s behaviour is absolutely deplorable and the fact that nobody has the decency to talk to the club face-to-face is disgusting.

“My grandfather would be turning in his grave if he knew what was happening here.”

A public meeting was held at the centre on Tuesday and more than 200 people were there – but not a single member of APC, with all 11 councillors apparently too busy to attend.

The parish council is often labelled as the richest in the country following the multi-million pound sale of land, which is now Bradley Stoke, to developers in 1988.

Until last year Hallen Centre was run by a management committee but this was disbanded when its members resigned en masse after failing to agree on the lease.

In a statement, APC said it had been forced to evict users from centre and that "all parties were fully aware of the centre’s precarious financial position but no changes were implemented to try and improve the situation”.

It added: “The parish council cannot legally sell the land for development and has never had any intention of so doing.

“It should be stressed that APC are not, repeat not, in ongoing negotiations to sell the centre or land.”

During Friday's meeting, many villagers urged the football club to refuse to hand back the keys on Sunday and instead attend the parish council’s meeting on Tuesday to confront councillors.

Ann Keenaghan, a member of the Hallen Horticultural Society, said the council had not consulted villagers and groups which regularly use the centre before deciding to close the site.

“This is our local hall. It’s the only public building in the village other than the pub and that’s not suitable for many people.

“We’re nearly at the point where we have everything sorted for this year’s horticultural show. We work very hard on it and now we’re left right up in the air because we’ve had no notice from the council."

The council has said it will “try to make alternative arrangements” for groups which use the centre.

Following the meeting on Friday, 142 people filled in complaint forms regarding the conduct of the parish council and its level of openness – these will be delivered to a monitoring officer at South Gloucestershire Council.

Bristol City winger Scott Murray has also tweeted his concern about the council's decision to close the centre.

To sign the petition against the decision, see gopetition.com/petitions/helpsavehallenfootballclub.html