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Tunbridge Wells FC counting the cost of clubhouse blaze

The exact cause of a fire at a football club remains unknown.

But investigators have concluded the blaze that destroyed the clubhouse at Culverden Stadium, home to Tunbridge Wells FC, was likely due to an electrical fault.

The aftermath of the fire in the clubhouse of Tunbridge Wells Football Club
The aftermath of the fire in the clubhouse of Tunbridge Wells Football Club

The initial findings came as something of a relief to club chairman Scott Bartlett, who said: "If it had been arson, I don't think I would ever be able to sleep at night."

But the fire has had a devastating effect on the club.

Mr Bartlett said: "We are still assessing what can be done, but there are basically only the walls left. We may have to start again with a new clubhouse."

The club has lost one of its major sources of revenue.

Mr Bartlett said: "Not only did we used to hire the clubhouse out for people's functions, but we also opened the bar on match days which brought in quite a bit of income."

The walls are still standing
The walls are still standing

Meanwhile electricity to the rest of the club's grounds has been restored, and although the toilets in the clubhouse have been lost, the stadium has another toilet block as well as portable toilets.

Mr Bartlett said: "We are good to go ahead with our home match this Saturday against Canterbury City — and hopefully we will have a good crowd."

Mr Bartlett fancied his team's chances.

He said: "We played an away match against Welling last weekend just two days after the fire and we thrashed them 4-0, so we are in good form."

Although it is unlikely to be in place for the match this weekend, the club is looking to a brewery to provide an outside bar at future home matches while they are without the clubhouse.

The club is hoping for a good attendance at this Saturday's 3pm match against Canterbury City
The club is hoping for a good attendance at this Saturday's 3pm match against Canterbury City

Mr Bartlettt said that once the club had concrete plans on how it was going to deal with the loss of the building, it would launch a GoFundMe Appeal.

He said: "At the moment, we have no idea what that target figure would be."

In the meantime, a JustGiving page set up by a club supporter, Marc Gilbert, has raised £773.

At its peak, the overnight fire was tackled by four fire engines and a water truck, with crews also using breathing apparatus and compressed air foam.

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