A COMMUNITY-centre roof has been extensively damaged in today's gales.

Metal tiles, insulation and chunks of wooden frame were ripped off Hainworth Wood Community Centre in Keighley by the winds.

Police and one crew from Keighley Fire Station attended the incident and a section of Hainworth Wood Road was cordoned-off for public safety reasons.

Firefighters helped make the building safe.

A structural engineer and three roofers from Incommunities, which owns the building, were called in.

No one was injured in the incident.

Claire Young, who chairs the centre’s management committee, attended to co-ordinate the response with emergency services and ward district councillors Malcolm Slater and Caroline Firth.

She said: "This is devastating for the community and for us as a committee. I am in bits.

"A builder who lives across the road got his staff out to help us and pull away large corrugated tiles that were overhanging by the path and road, which was incredibly kind and community spirited."

It is currently unknown how long the centre will be closed and an alternative location is being sought to store items, including stock used to create parcels for a weekly food bank.

Cllr Firth said: “We’re already working on potential options to relocate the food bank in the short to medium term so we can carry on supporting vulnerable local people. But I’m also hugely concerned about how we will support people as we start to emerge from Covid. This centre was at the heart of plans to do this – and has just employed a new worker to help deliver it all – so this incident really is a crushing blow.”

An Incommunities spokesman said: “We lease the building to the community centre management committee which is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep.

“We do provide building insurance and will be overseeing repair work to make safe and secure the building and ensure that any works required will be undertaken alongside the community group and insurance providers. Our estates team attended to clear any debris in the area."