A blaze in the sauna at Tides Leisure Pool in Deal has gutted the health suite and rendered the whole centre unusable in the middle of a busy half-term.

Staff at Tides have been praised by Kent Fire and Rescue for their sleek evacuation of the building when the fire broke out just after 6pm last night.

Kalvin Clapson, business development manager of Vista Leisure, which runs the centre on behalf of the district council, said the blaze has been a "blow".

The blaze is being investigated as arson and crew manager David Potts of Deal’s Fire Station said: "Anecdotal evidence suggests people were putting plastic cups on the coals."

Mr Clapson added: "It has completely wrecked the area, the rest is suffering from smoke damage.

"We’ve started the clean up today in the hope we will have the building open tomorrow.

"It’s a blow but we’ve got to deal with it as best as we can and open the building up again."