‘It’s part of us, Clarry Baths... it’s like grief, you feel wounded’
“I FEEL like crying. It’s part of our community, it’s been there for years.”
Watching on as firefighters sprayed water on the smouldering remains of Clarendon Leisure Centre, one woman summed up the mood in this corner of Salford.
She was one of many visibly shaken by the scene of devastation left after a huge fire ripped through the building in the early hours of yesterday.
Video footage and images showed flames erupting from the leisure centre as large plumes of smoke soared high across the city. Firefighters were called to the scene at about 2.45am and tried to bring the fire under control.
A large part of the building – believed to be the swimming pool area – was completed gutted by the blaze. Police are treating the fire as arson and have launched an investigation. No one was injured and no arrests have been made.
As people passed the leisure centre’s burned and twisted shell on their way to work and school, the sense of shock, sadness and loss was palpable.
“It’s part of us, Clarry Baths,” said one woman. “You feel wounded, it’s like grief.”
In Pendleton, a working class community, the leisure centre was special. Generations of families learned to swim there while its kids clubs were a lifeline for parents and their children during the school holidays.
It is a beacon of hope, a ‘vital’ facility for so many. And after decades at the heart of the community, the ageing leisure centre, off Liverpool Street, was in the process of being refurbished. The swimming pool reopened last month while the gym was in the process of being extended.
Now, there is fear that it may be lost forever. Sheryl Singleton, whose Towyn Avenue home backs on to the leisure centre, woke up to find the building ‘ablaze’ in the early hours.
“It was frightening,” she added. “We didn’t know if we were going to be evacuated. I couldn’t believe it, my son is always in there. It’s really sad.
“We’ve all grown up round here with the swimming baths, it’s childhood memories. It’s the only thing the kids have got round here, there’s nothing for them. I hope they rebuild it.”
Natasha Smith, who lives in Port
Soderick Avenue, was awoken when smoke from the fire came billowing in through her bedroom window. She looked outside to see ‘flames in the sky.’ “It just started getting worse and worse,” she said. Ms Smith visits the leisure centre several nights a week with her five-year-old daughter, who she said burst into tears upon hearing about the fire.
“We go there every other night,” Ms Smith said. “My daughter is gutted. “It’s sad. I did my swimming lessons there. My mum is 52 and she has been going there since she was little.”
As firefighters attempted to tackle the blaze, Liverpool Street was shut in both directions between Fitzwarren Street and Albion Way.
People living nearby were told to stay inside their homes and keep windows closed as the flames continued to erupt from the scene. Fire crews are expected to remain at the leisure centre for the rest of today.
Alyssa Casey, 17, works at the leisure centre during the summer holidays and said she ‘felt sick’ upon hearing what had happened.
“It was used by a lot of people,” she said. “Everyone is devastated.
“So many people have lost their jobs and the kids won’t have anywhere to go. I’ve been going there since I was a kid and my parents worked there when they were 16, 17.”
Another woman, who gave her name as Emma, described herself as ‘heartbroken.’
“It’s been there since I was a kid and I’m 42,” she said. “I learned to swim there in primary school. “Where are our kids going to go swimming? My daughter has been asking all week if she can go swimming on Saturday.
“We had it planned but we can’t go now. She’s really sad. There’s nothing else for the kids round here. There’s a broken down park, a corner shop and a chemist.”