JOBSEEKERS in Lyme Regis have been handed a boost after a local MP revealed plans to open a job club in the town.

Oliver Letwin MP was speaking after opening a job club in Sherborne earlier this month and said following the success of the clubs throughout west Dorset, he was working to create one in Lyme and hoped it would be open before Christmas Mr Letwin said: “I am now intending to move on to Lyme Regis.

"The latest figures continue to show west Dorset as one of the parts of the country with the lowest unemployment – now standing at only 1.2 per cent of the work force.

"But if you are part of that 1.2 per cent, it’s no help to be told that other people in the district are in work.

“What has struck me over again as we have set up these job clubs in the course of the last two or three years, is the willingness of people now retired to lend their time and effort.

“Many people who have succeeded and contributed are more than willing to go out of their way to help others do the same.

“You find this, of course, in all the voluntary bodies and social enterprises – the Citizens Advice Bureau for example, is full of volunteers who give extraordinary amounts of their time to help out people.

“But lacking a job is a particularly vivid and grisly experience and it is positively touching to see how concerned those who have had jobs are to provide a ladder for those who haven’t got them.”

The aim of the job club is to help jobseekers of all ages in finding employment. Similar job clubs in Bridport and Axminster have been a success, with the clubs helping people secure employment.

Peter Jeffs, centre manager at LymeNet, backed the idea of a job club in the town.

Mr Jeffs said: “It would be very good for the town. We know that a number of people are interested in a job club in Lyme Regis.

“Not everyone who is unemployed can afford to go to the other job club in Axminster, and we think one opening here would complement that one.

“In terms of unemployment we have an unusual situation in Lyme where people are actually under employed and this is probably down to seasonal jobs.

“The statistics show that the eastern part of Lyme Regis is one of the 20 per cent most deprived areas in Dorset. We would be delighted to see a job club open.”