South Bristol Sports Centre fire: Forty people evacuated Published duration 12 May 2018

image caption Police have put a road closure in place at the West Town Lane junction with Wells Road

About forty people were evacuated from a sports centre in Bristol after fire broke out.

Avon Fire and Rescue said about 50 firefighters went to the scene at South Bristol Sports Centre in Hengrove "to bring the fire under control".

Searches of the building were continuing on Saturday evening to make sure everyone got out safely.

People living nearby were urged to keep doors and windows closed because of the smoke from the fire.

image caption Fire service group manager Luke Gazzard said the cause of the fire was not yet known

Luke Gazzard, from Avon Fire and Rescue, said crews were "now on top of the fire".

He said: "[Teams] are doing a systematic search of the building and I won't be happy to confirm there's nobody in the building until that point.

"It's a massive loss to the community, it's a real big resource for south Bristol.

"Lots and lots of people use it. It's used every day of the week so we're going to try to finish our business here as soon as possible."

'Horrible sight'

He thought fire crews would remain on the scene until Sunday and said they had "no information" about how the fire started.

image caption About 50 firefighters tackled the blaze in West Town Lane, which is thought to have started just after midday

Sports centre director Ben Ferris said: "It's a horrible sight seeing part of the building go up in flames like that.

"I'm just thankful the staff at the time got everybody out efficiently and fast.

"Approximately 40 people were in the building at the time.

"It'll be quite a considerable loss to the local community because so many people use it on a daily basis - about 3,000 to 4,000 people use it per week."

Many people are commenting on the fire on Twitter. Christopher said he was "lucky to be evacuated".