Teen beauty spot drinkers are ramblers, not rebels
- Dave Burrows
A fire ripped through a former Telford sports and social club destroying part of the clubhouse in a suspected arson attack.
About 40 firefighters battled the blaze at the site of the old Coddon Sports and Social Club in Wellington Road, Donnington, at about 9.50pm yesterday.
Police were forced to close part of the road at Furnace Lane for more than two hours after crews arrived to find flames shooting through the roof of the well-known building.
Craig Jackson, crew manager at Telford Fire Station, said crews were at the scene until after midnight in an attempt to save the former clubhouse, which closed in April this year.
Mr Jackson said: “The shutters were up which caused a lot of problems for us to gain access.
“We had our rescue tender which has all of the cutting equipment to cut through the steel shutters.
“All the front reception area, as you walk into the club, was on fire. It started to come through the roof.”
Mr Jackson said the rest of the club was saved after firefighters finally got into the building.
The club, which was one of the oldest civil service clubs in Shropshire before its closure, had been on the site since June 1966 after moving from COD Donnington.
Coddon closed on April 2 after most of its 250 associate members failed to use it regularly and it began to make a loss.
Mr Jackson added the cause of the fire was now under investigation.
Angela Mansel, who lives beside the former club, witnessed the fire.
“We saw masses and masses of blue lights.
“There were fire appliances, masses of firemen and hoses all over the road,” she said. “They also brought in one of their big cherry pickers.”
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