Changing rooms wrecked as yob vandals set light to sports pavilion

A SPORTS pavilion was destroyed in a blaze early today after apparently being torched by vandals.

• The charred remains of one of the changing rooms.

Flames were spotted coming from the council-owned building at Sighthill Park in the early hours of this morning.

Fire crews rushed to the scene but the blaze had already taken hold. Changing rooms inside the pavilion in Broomhouse Road were left gutted, the ceiling destroyed, walls blackened and nothing but charred remains on the floor.

Fire investigators believe the fire was started on an outside wall.

Among the debris outside the building there were two empty bottles of vodka and an aerosol can.

The pavilion is mainly used by young footballers aged between 12 and 19, who play in the Edinburgh City youth league.

The building has been plagued by vandalism over the years and is a popular venue for underage drinkers.

It has been hit by fire before.

An arson attack at the end of 2006 destroyed the roof of the building, putting it out of use for around two months.

And in April 2008, two of the pavilion's five changing rooms were burnt out and the others left smoke-damaged after a blaze one Sunday evening, not long after the place had been upgraded following a campaign to bring the facilities into the 21st century.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire Service said: "A fire was reported in a sports pavilion used by the council as a changing room adjacent to the sports ground. It started in the wall of the building and quickly spread into the roof.

"There was severe damage to the whole building.

"The fire investigation unit are carrying out inquiries, but they do think it was malicious.

A police spokesman said they were alerted to the fire at 3.30am and officers attended. He said the incident was being treated as suspicious.

Recent weeks have seen a spate of serious fires across the Capital - including one fatality and one which left a man in a coma.