A leisure centre has been forced to shut down after a section of its swimming pool roof was damaged in Storm Ciara.

Swimmers were evacuated from the pool at around 1.30pm yesterday when it was noticed that roof panelling was breaking away at the leisure centre in Tenterden and a decision was taken to shut the entire centre around 4.45pm.

The centre remains closed to the public today until further notice, while the car park has been taped off by Ashford Borough Council for safety reasons.

Parts of Tenterden Leisure Centre's swimming pool roof also "became loose" when Storm Caroline hit the country in December 2017.

Dean Blackford, the centre's facilities manager confirmed the damage inflicted by Storm Ciara and said: "There has been damage to a section of the swimming pool roof due to extremely high winds.

"In the interests of customer and staff safety, we have closed the centre."

The centre and car park have since re-opened at 4pm today following repair work carried out by contractors working for Ashford Borough Council.

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