Licensee tells of her devastation after sports and social club 'exploded'

Flames tore through Mr Earl’s Sports and Social Club, in Higher Ince, on Sunday in what is believed to have been an arson attack.

Landlady Karen Midgley said a large hole had been blown out of the premises, which were previously home to the local branch of the Royal British Legion.

It was open until 8pm on Sunday and was locked up by her brother Glenn Moore. But shortly afterwards, a large fire broke out.

Mrs Midgley, who has run the club for around 25 years, said: “I’m devastated, absolutely devastated. We were in the club and within 10 minutes of us leaving the club, it just exploded.”

Firefighters were called at 8.45pm and five crews, from Wigan, Hindley, Atherton and Leigh, worked to bring the blaze under control. But part of the single-storey building collapsed due to the fire.

Mr Moore had been alerted to the blaze after an alarm went off at the club and he spent Sunday night there as firefighters worked.

One fire engine remained there on Monday morning and an investigation into the cause of the fire was launched.

A fire service spokesman said the fire was believed to have been started deliberately and police confirmed they were investigating.

Mrs Midgley said she had not been able to properly survey the extent of the damage yet as the building is unsafe.

But she fears it will mean the two permanent members of staff - Mr Moore and his wife - will lose their jobs.

She said: “We can’t open the club. There is a big hole in the side of it and we can’t operate. It’s devastated us all.

“It’s a community club. It’s a non-profit-making organisation, we are there just for the sole use of the community to use it for whatever they want.”

To add to the heartache, the fire came just as “quite a substantial” amount of money had been spent on improvements. New carpets had recently been laid and new seating put in place, with a music system and lights also bought.

Mrs Midgley said: “We have only just started refurbishing the inside. It’s only boarded up because of where were are, because people keep breaking the windows so we have to keep them boarded up. We have only just refurbished one room and were refurbishing another room.”

Mr Earl’s has been based in the building since 1995, taking over from the Higher Ince branch of the RBL which moved home elsewhere before disbanding in 2008.

The Legion put the site up for sale in 2017, but Mr Earl’s continued to operate.

Objections were lodged when a planning application was submitted in the summer seeking permission to demolish the club and build 38 houses. A decision has yet to be made, according to Wigan Council’s website.