In the last week there have been several fires involving former bingo clubs in the UK and this morning firecrews were called to yet another empty bingo club engulfed in flames. The derelict venue in Shirebrook started off as a theatre in 1910 and was later used as a cinema before being converted to a bingo club until 2004 when it closed its doors.

Crews from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire’s fire services were called to the incident at the old Empire building on Thickley Close at around 6am. A nearby resident commented: “I saw what was going on at about a quarter past six, because I noticed the blue lights from the fire engine.

“It was just engulfed in flames, I was just shocked.”

The Chesterfield station manager and incident commander at the scene, Richard Barker, commented: “When we arrived we were faced with a rapidly developing fire involving one side of the building.

“We surrounded it to make sure it did not spread to neighbouring properties.

“This is around the sixth fire at this site in recent years.”

“A fire investigation officer will work with police to determine the cause,” added Barker.

Two other fires in the UK involving former bingo clubs are reportedly being treated as suspicious.