Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed the fire that completely gutted the "best club in Widnes" was started deliberately.
The fire service dispatched six engines and a hydraulic platform to Birchfield Road in Widnes just before 9.30pm on Thursday, July 13, following reports of a blaze at the former Birchfield Sports and Social Club. Once firefighters arrived the building was already well alight.
Neighbours at the scene reported initially seeing flames reaching over houses nearby. A number of people were evacuated from their homes as the blaze took hold, including a woman in her 80's.
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Officers were asking people to close their windows and doors as they were worried about asbestos in the disused building. Emergency services at the scene told The ECHO there was nobody inside the property when firefighters arrived.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service have now completed an investigation into the fire and confirmed they believe it was "started deliberately".
One woman described the moment she first saw flames from her living room window.
She said: "I just looked out the window and saw the smoke. I called my friend and said 'you'll never believe it the club is on fire'. Then, in what must have been a matter of minutes, it went up like a rocket.
"I couldn't believe how quickly it went up, it was all of it. They evacuated people straight away."
The woman added the building has been plagued with anti-social behaviour since the club closed.
She said: "There are kids here every night, they're dressed in black and are always hanging around there. The police are here most nights trying to get them away."
Derek Hulme, another resident on the road, said he had previously "chased" youths off from people's gardens in the street and added it was "only a matter of time" before something happened. He told The ECHO how he used to attend Birchfield Sports and Social Club and it was the "best in Widnes".
He said: "It started as a little bit of smoke and then it was all up in flames. We were all expecting it with the people always being here.
"It's been boarded up by the council and the fire brigade have been here twice in the last five or six months. It was the best club around.
"The people here were amazing. It closed in the first lockdown and never reopened. It was rugby union and a fair few names came through here.
"It's a real shame.”
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