A GWENT sports club for disabled people is being muscled out of its regular weekend slot at Cwmbran Stadium, members claim.

Gwent Dragons - home to paralympic swimming champion Gareth Duke - meets every Sunday morning.

But spokeswoman Sue Jones told the Argus that three of the club"s sessions in the main sports hall - paid for a year in advance - had been cancelled in the last three months.

The latest cancellation next Sunday is to make way for a dog show run by the Shetland Sheepdog Club of Wales.

The sports club caters for a variety of members from wheelchair users to those with learning disabilities.

Paralympic champion Gareth Duke, who is currently training in South Africa, is a member, along with cousin Kyron Duke, 12, who is a javelin and discus prospect for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

"Why should we have to put up with this? We depend on our sessions for our regular exercise. Some of us don"t get the chance to take part in any other activities," said Miss Jones, of Greenmeadow, who uses a wheelchair herself.

But Torfaen council, which runs the centre, said the club is notified "as early as possible" if it needs to take over the sports hall. The spokesman said members were offered a smaller hall or room where possible.

The club offers a variety of activities in the large hall from table tennis, boccea and curling to basketball and football.

"It"s about the social aspect as well," said Miss Jones.

"For a lot of us it is the one thing we look forward to each week. If we get the smaller hall that"s fine but on at least three occasions we"ve had no alternative."

A Torfaen council spokesperson said: "It"s a balancing act between making sure our regular bookings can be accommodated at the same time as attracting high- profile sporting competitions.

"They are an important sports club which is why we make every effort to make sure they can use our facilities each week."