A SCOTS amateur football club has been left devastated after a horrific fire destroyed their clubhouse – which had only recently been renovated.
Viewfield Rovers AFC’s clubhouse caught fire on Friday night, with emergency services arriving at 8pm to combat the blaze.
The amateur side from Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire had tragically been working on an ongoing renovation in the clubhouse for two years.
Video footage shows the roof of the clubhouse ablaze, glowing a bright orange in the dark of the winter night.
Blue flashing lights from emergency service vehicles can be seen surrounding the building as they attempt to combat the fire.
Whilst there is currently no official cause for what started the blaze, early reports suggest it may have been down to an electrical fault.
Viewfield Rovers shared the footage to social media on Monday, writing: “Our pavillion goes up in smoke only 10 minutes after some local residents spotted youths inside the gates hiding in the small shelter which is attached to the main building.
“Gratefully the fire brigade arrived very quickly and got the blaze under control.
“The entire inside has been damaged extensively and we will have to check how badly the structure has been affected before we decide what happens next.
“Initial reports from the Police and Fire Brigade suggested that there could have been a wiring issue with a fan, so we cannot confirm the exact cause until we hear further.
“However we would be grateful if anyone has any footage or knowledge of who the youths could have been as we think it would be worthwhile chatting with them to see what they were doing in the premises.
“As a club we will continue to play and hopefully can start some fundraising (maybe even a Gofundme page) for whatever works are necessary.
“Short term we could do with even a temporary cabin to use as changing rooms so we can play home games from our intended start back date of early March.
“We have overcome some large hurdles in the past and hopefully we will do so again.
“Our 100 year centenary plans which were to have been celebrated in 2021 may have to be put a bit further back again – first COVID and now this.”
Club secretary Ali McMaster, 56, said today: “Short term we could do with even a temporary cabin to use as changing rooms so we can play home games from our intended start back date of early March.
“It is gutting for the club as we had just refurbished the place with a bar, new flooring, furniture and TVs.
“We hadn’t been playing at home due to the cold weather but we hope to still get back in March like we planned.
“Next week we have access to a skip so that we can clear the place out and assess the damage done.
“We have overcome some large hurdles in the past and hopefully we will do so again.”
Speaking today, a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 8:01 pm on Friday, February 3 to reports of a fire at Viewfield Amateur Football Club, Lochwinnoch.
“Operations Control mobilised three appliances to the scene and firefighters extinguished a building fire.
“There were no casualties and crews left after ensuring the area was made safe”.
