Gosport Leisure Centre evacuated after water pipe bursts

Dozens of people fled Gosport Leisure Centre, in Forest Way, Gosport.

At first, there were fears the building was on fire, with a member of the public reportedly seeing smoke.

This prompted a response from firefighters, with two crew from Gosport and one from Fareham rushing to the scene, shortly after 5pm.

Jake Fazackerley witnessed the evacuation said: ‘The fire alarm went off and everybody inside was evacuated.’

However, a spokeswoman for the service said it was a false alarm, with Gosport Borough Council later confirming a burst pipe was responsible.

A spokesman for the authority explained the centre was closed for urgent repairs.

He added: ‘Specialist contractors have been called out to make urgent repairs.

‘The centre will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so but this is unlikely to be for the normal opening time of 6am tomorrow morning.’