The club closed for four months after a fire caused £100,000 worth of damage
Westbury sailing club has reopened its boathouse following an arson attack that destroyed the building earlier this year.
The building was deliberately set alight in the early hours of April 24th, causing £100,000 worth of damage.
In addition to the fire, equipment was also stolen from the sailing club and boats stored nearby were damaged.
Volunteer senior instructor Leon Ward told the BBC: “We have a brand new boathouse and sail store, with lots of security measures. It’s all much, much safer than it was.
There were concerns that the closure of the club would cause the younger sailors to lose interest so activities were moved to Shearwater over the summer while the boathouse was restored.
Firefighter Jess Hall who attended the blaze said the club’s new facilities were “quite amazing”.
Speaking about the night of the fire she said: “When we first arrived I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is the sailing club’.
“Then, ‘Oh dear, that’s everything gone now’. The season had only just started as well and put a stop to everything, so it’s good that we’re back.”
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