A POPULAR Ardrossan gym is at risk following the latest act of vandalism at the old Seafield School, which saw the derelict building’s basement under 6ft of water and left the gym with no water or power supply.

It is thought that someone broke into the old building on Eglington Road in the early hours of Monday, August 22 and burst the main water pipe while trying to strip off copper tubing. The subsequent flooding and damage has left Maximum Potential Health CIC next door without water or power.

John Welsh, Community Interest Company Director at Maximum Potential Health CIC, told the Herald: “The constant vandalism has been an issue, but it now seems to have taken a more sinister turn. It seems to have attracted people who are quite organised at stripping copper and tearing off insulation. They’ve tried to cut the copper piping and it’s burst the main water pipe. It’s a bit of a disaster for us. Scottish Water had to isolate the power cable from the building and drain the water out for us, then Scottish Power have to prove the cable was safe because that water could be live. We won’t have any power for the foreseeable future.

“North Ayrshire Athletics are due to start this week and there are the public who use the gym. At the moment that’s going to be a real issue. It could be thousands and thousands of pounds for us. We can get a generator in for the short term for some lighting but there’s nothing you can do about water. Until then, we’ll just need to see.

“Our gym’s a wonderful facility for the community and right now that’s at risk.”

John’s wife Michelle added: “We’re in complete limbo. It’s destroyed our livelihood. The electricity has shorted and Scottish Power said it might be irreparable. Our next focus is getting our own supply put in, which as a community interest company we really can’t afford.

“It might be just kids but they don’t realise the impact they have.”

A concerned member of the public contacted the Herald on the morning of the incident and expressed his frustration at the ongoing vandalism at the derelict building. He said: “I use the gym myself and it’s a great place for the community. Because of this they’ve got no electricity, no water, no gas. This is going to put this poor guy out of business which is a real shame because he does so much for the community. There are jobs at risk of being lost here.

“People could have been electrocuted by this. Whoever cut that pipe, the pressure would have made it explode in their face and could possibly have knocked them out, meaning they could have been floating about that basement dead and no one would have been able to get in.”

A spokesman from Fire Scotland said that a crew were sent out to Seafield just before 10am on Monday morning and remained on the scene for about an hour as a precaution. Scottish Power, Scottish Water, and Police Scotland were also in attendance.

The spokesman added: “There was 6ft of water in the basement of the old Seafield School so there was a worry about the live electricity. We left the scene at about 11am and left it in the hands of Scottish Water and Scottish Power. It was thought to have been caused by youths damaging pipes.”

A spokeswoman from Scottish Power confirmed they “isolated supplies” for safety.

A spokesman from Scottish Water added: “We turned off a valve on our water mains near the school to isolate the pipes on the premises and this stopped the flooding.”

Police Scotland said that enquiries were ongoing.