Picture shows damage after stadium blaze
THE scale of a major fire that took hold at the former Brandon Stadium has been revealed in a newly-released image.
The blaze took hold on Friday in the dilapidated, heavily-vandalised grandstand at the former home of the Coventry Bees speedway team.
A firefighter’s perspective has been given from a hydraulic platform used by one of several regional crews who responded to the incident.
Six engines, an incident van and an assortment of response cars were called to the site, which is six miles east of Coventry in Brandon.
At least a dozen firefighters attended the incident at its peak, using the platform and laying down a hose reel from a point on the Rugby Road.
Donna Tully, who had been campaigning to save the former racing hub, reacted with dismay as she gave her reaction to the Telegraph shortly after the news broke.
Donna said: “I’m absolutely gutted. I’ve been going to that stadium since I was a toddler. The closure was a sad loss to the oval racing community. We had hoped we could save our stadium but as time went on it was inevitable that we were losing the battle.
“Sadly the fire today is one of many and of course something that had always been anticipated within the oval community. It’s a similar trend. Not only that but it’s clear that the site isn’t secure enough to stop this from happening. On a whole it’s a slow and painful death of the stadium we once loved. So many fond memories. It’s just really sad.”
While the fire service has not yet commented on the cause, the empty stadium has been hit by arsonists before.
In March, crews were called out to a small fire started in the main building using chairs, old tyres and rubbish.
At the time, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service slammed whoever was responsible for the “mindless” arson attack, saying it was “tying up crews” who should be responding to genuine emergencies.
The Bees’ former home, also known as Coventry Stadium, closed in 2016 after hosting speedway events since 1928.
Campaigners have been battling to bring speedway back to the venue.
No speedway or stock car racing events have taken place at Brandon since the stadium’s current owners Brandon Estates closed it at the end of the 2016 season.
Following the closure, the company unveiled plans to develop the stadium site for housing leading to a longrunning planning battle.
The firm has said before that it has taken a range of measures, in line with advice from Rugby Borough Council, to secure the site.