Burglars have robbed a well known bingo club in Liverpool before setting it alight to cover their tracks.

The former Pavillion theatre in Toxteth which has been a well established bingo club for many years was part-destroyed in the arson attack on Friday morning. The owners claimed that the burglars tried to cover their tracks by stealing the CCTV system which would have shown them emptying all the gaming machines before setting fire to the building.

The Lodge Lane club, which is known by locals as the ‘Pivvy’ was taken over in 1993 by Gary Armstrong. He added: “We’ve been robbed and they’ve burnt the place to the ground.

“I can deal with robberies, that’s part and parcel of the job. Where there’s cash, there is always that temptation.

“But why they have had to torch the place too? They have destroyed our business and it is the community that have lost out.

“I’ve been in this industry for 30 years and I have never seen something like this. I thought I had seen it all.

“This was planned in detail. It isn’t the work of just one person.”

The suspects who are believed to have gained entry by breaking through the entrance to the club and hit the machines in adjoining lobby. The suspects are also claimed to have attempted to open the safe but were unsuccessful.

Fire crews spent three hours tackling the fire.

Gary Armstrong added later: "the fire has not burnt the building down, the machines foyer is severly damaged but work starts this week on repairs and will re open as son as possible. We have given the police many leads to who was responsible."