HEAVY rain falling across Gwent forced the evacuation of the Ebbw Vale Sports Centre after its roof collapsed on Saturday.

Nobody was injured as the ceiling of the reception fell in, with water cascading down flights of stairs inside the building at around 11am.

The owners of the sports centre, BG Life, have closed the site until further notice, with structural engineers and fire crews working to make the building safe.

Via its Facebook page, the sports centre has posted the following message, which says: "Please be advised that due to the severe weather conditions causing damage to the centre roof we have had to close Ebbw Vale Sports Centre.

"We would like to thank everyone this morning for their understanding of the situation and will update you as soon as we have further information."

Fire crews spent three hours at the scene on Saturday afternoon, estimating that about half of the building was flooded following the damage to the roof and ceiling.

Jennie Griffiths, head of the South Wales Fire and Rescue control, said that when the fire crews arrived at the scene, all persons inside the building at the time of the collapse were safely removed.

Once the fire crews left the site, members from the building company who built the centre Wilmott Dixon and the building’s owners were investigating the scene to check on the extend of the damage.

Neither party was willing to issue a comment on the matter until further notice.

The £15 million Ebbw Vale Sports Centre was opened in 2013, and contains two pitches – one grass and one artificial turf, 25-metre swimming pool with two water flumes, dance studio, eight badminton courts, sports hall, gym and cafe.