Police have confirmed that a fire at a vacant leisure centre in Derry was deliberate.
Fire and rescue services were called to the former Lisnagelvin leisure centre at Richill Park, adjacent to Waterside PSNI station and Lisnagelvin shopping centre, on Thursday afternoon.
A PSNI spokeswoman said the alarm was raised by officers on a police patrol who saw a large plume of smoke coming from the building.
The fire service spokeswoman said the cause of the blaze was “deliberate ignition”. It was also confirmed that equipment inside the former sports and leisure centre was damaged in the attack.
“Police in Derry/Londonderry are appealing for witnesses and information about a fire in the Waterside in the city on Thursday afternoon 1st August which is being investigated as arson,” the spokeswoman said.
NIFRS confirmed that five appliances were called to the scene and the incident was dealt with by 6pm on Thursday.
Concerns had been raised in recent weeks about young people accessing the vacant building and a number of local councillors had asked centre owners, Derry and Strabane council, to secure the site.
Lisnagelvin leisure centre has been closed for almost ten years and earlier this year, the council confirmed plans to sell the facility and surrounding land had reached the “preferred bidder” stage.
A spokeswoman for the council said it would continue to work with relevant statutory agencies to re-secure the facility in the aftermath of Thursday’s fire.
