Youths seen at Full Monty club before fire - police

Youths were reportedly seen entering a Sheffield working men's club which featured in 1997 film The Full Monty just before a fire broke out, police said.

The blaze began at Shiregreen Working Men's Club on Shiregreen Lane just before 16:45 BST on Sunday 9 August, and South Yorkshire Police believe the fire was started deliberately.

In an updated appeal, the force said: "Following house-to-house inquiries, it is reported that a group of youths had entered the building and left seconds before the fire started."

Officers appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to get in touch.

Eight fire engines and a turntable ladder were sent to the scene, with no reports of injuries, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue service said.

The building has been closed since 2019 and has become derelict in recent years, with a fire also started there deliberately last year.

In 2020, Sheffield City Council refused an application to bulldoze the building after more than 1,000 people signed a petition to save it.

Oscar-winning comedy The Full Monty depicted the lives of Sheffield steelworkers who were made redundant and turned to stripping at a club to earn a living.

The movie, starring Robert Carlyle and Mark Addy, ended up as one of the best-loved and highest-grossing British films of the 1990s.

The film's famous final scene was filmed inside Shiregreen Working Men's Club.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North