THE manager of Winchester's youth hostel has warned its closure would be a blow to tourism in the city.

Laurence Garvin warned that Winchester would lose visitors from both the UK and overseas if the hostel, one of Britain's oldest, is shut.

He said: "This is an attractive part of the country for young tourists, both from home and abroad. Without affordable accommodation they simply won't come."

A question mark hangs over the future of Winchester's hostel because the National Trust has other plans for the building.

The conservation charity owns the City Mill tourist attraction in which the hostel is based.

The mill is proving so popular that trust bosses want to expand its activities by reclaiming some of the space used by the hostel as a dormitory.

If the hostel, which opened in 1934, did lose the bed spaces it would no longer be a financially viable operation.

Bosses at the National Trust and the Youth Hostel Association have confirmed that they are in talks to find a solution.