Hilsea gym hit with flooding damage after heavy rain praises its ‘unbelievable’ members as they put in hours of work to get the business back on its feet

A GYM boss is praising the ‘unbelievable community spirit’ of its members after volunteers rallied to help the business when it was hit by severe flooding.
After serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up

Pictured: Jess Jackson, Cameron Macdonald and Beck Foster at Basecamp, Hilsea on 28 July 2021

Picture: Habibur RahmanAfter serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up

Pictured: Jess Jackson, Cameron Macdonald and Beck Foster at Basecamp, Hilsea on 28 July 2021

Picture: Habibur Rahman
After serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up Pictured: Jess Jackson, Cameron Macdonald and Beck Foster at Basecamp, Hilsea on 28 July 2021 Picture: Habibur Rahman

Monday evening’s heavy rain hit hard at 1Basecamp in Hilsea, damaging the guttering and sending buckets of water into the gym.

When staff came to work at 4am the following morning, they were horrified by the damage they found.

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Stormwater had flooded the gym, leaving ankle deep waters on the flooring and equipment knocked out of place.

After serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up

Pictured: The Basecamp community members at Basecamp, Hilsea on 28 July 2021

Picture: Habibur RahmanAfter serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up

Pictured: The Basecamp community members at Basecamp, Hilsea on 28 July 2021

Picture: Habibur Rahman
After serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up Pictured: The Basecamp community members at Basecamp, Hilsea on 28 July 2021 Picture: Habibur Rahman
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Becky Foster, Basecamp cafe manager, said: ‘The guttering failed, so any holes in the side of the building got flooded in all directions.

‘We have a professional boxing cage with specialised floor that just exploded from the water.

‘We saw it all on CCTV - it reminds me of that scene in Titanic when all the bolts came out and water starts to flood in.’

After serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up

Pictured: The Basecamp area where it was flooded. Pictured after all the work was done to it

Picture: Habibur RahmanAfter serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up

Pictured: The Basecamp area where it was flooded. Pictured after all the work was done to it

Picture: Habibur Rahman
After serious flooding, the community at Basecamp gym in Hilsea came together to work an 18 hour shift to get the gym tidied up Pictured: The Basecamp area where it was flooded. Pictured after all the work was done to it Picture: Habibur Rahman
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Gym owners Lea Jackson and Dan Till built their business in a Hilsea warehouse in December last year, and opened at the Limberline Spur Skill Centre as soon as gyms and leisure centres were able to on April 12.

After the flood, staff were devastated to have been dealt such a blow only months after opening.

Becky said: ‘It was a really awful, horrible situation.

‘We're a new gym in its first year, and to be hit by a massive flood, there were a lot of people who thought that that would be it for us.

‘But everyone turned up - companies, professional cleaners - the bad situation really brought out the good in people.’

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Staff, gym members, and friends, family, and supporters put in an 18 hour work day to help the gym recover from the impact of the storm.

The team worked until 10pm to clean, clear, and move gym equipment back to its rightful homes.

Becky said: ‘I walked in this morning, and you wouldn't think anything had happened. Everything was back in its place. It was surreal.

‘Some kind member who owns a cleaning company cleaned all the carpets for us, so it smells lovely now.

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‘It was really emotional coming into work this morning - the members we’ve got are incredible.

‘Unbelievable community spirit, and exactly what Basecamp is all about.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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