A prominent artist has donated an expensive painting to help save a not-for-profit arts group from the bailiffs.

Painter David Ridgway, from Ramsgate, has offered to auction his work ‘Blind Leading The Blind’, which is estimated to be worth more than £6,000.

The kind gesture came after bailiffs threatened to take artwork off the walls of Bauhaus Cafe Gallery on Monday following a dispute with the council over business rates.

Two men arrived at the North Street gallery armed with a warrant from Ashford Borough Council to collect an unpaid debt of £1,600.

They said they would take the artwork from the walls - which is mostly by young, local artists – to recover the value of the debt.

The dispute relates to a now-defunct not-for-profit group, The Creative Collective, which used to run from Park Mall.

The new Bauhaus Cafe, is a community interest company offering exhibition space to talented young artists from the area, plus workshops, art tutorials and space for other community projects.

A Bauhaus volunteer, who asked not to be named, said: "We are so grateful to David for stepping in to help us with this situation.

"Although Bauhaus Café has nothing to do with The Creative Collective, we would like to be able to pay this debt so that we can put the matter to rest.

"We would like to be able to do our work without having to worry that this resource may not be available to us as so many people benefit from the work we do, especially young creatives.

"Sadly, we feel we have no choice as we fear that the council would use any means to intimidate us, including legal resources which we cannot afford."

Cllr Graham Galpin, the council’s portfolio holder for town centres and business, said the council has tried to resolve the situation.

He said: "We have tried to impress the severity of the situation on the parties concerned but the fact is they have simply not heeded the concerns that we have spoken to them about.

"For months we have met face-to-face with them and corresponded in other ways.

"Yet they have only sporadically engaged with us, or told us they would do one thing but actually done another.

"While we welcome the cultural work that has been done in the past, debts remain debts and must be settled or we will take action on behalf of the taxpayer.

"Residents would expect us to collect rates from a business and put it towards the services the public demands.

"The fact remains that a significant sum is owed and despite a leeway far longer than any period any other landlord would have afforded to them, we are simply left with no choice.

"This is a last resort but one we will take.”

The volunteer added: "Bauhaus Café Community Interest Company has nothing to do with the Creative Collective.

"We are now in possession of an email which was sent to the to the council stating the fact that The Creative Collective Ashford Ltd is not trading from this building and in fact has not been trading since their departure from Park Mall.

"Any issues with The Creative Collective Ashford Ltd should go through legal routes.

"As The Creative Collective was a Company Limited by Guarantee, the company itself is a separate entity and is responsible for its debts, not the people who ran it, and certainly not Bauhaus Cafe."

For more information about the auction click here.