Shepton Mallet Gymnastics club fears losing its prison home

Clare Tanner said the former prison provided a "safe place" for the young gymnasts

A gymnastics club based in the world's oldest purpose-built prison says it will be homeless in the new year if it cannot find another venue.

Shepton Mallet Gymnastics works out of Shepton Prison, which is due to close as a tourist attraction on 2 January.

Head coach Clare Tanner said it was "devastating" and would leave the young gymnasts "without a safe place".

City and Country, which owns the building, said it would "love" the group to be able to continue using it.

The owners asked the gymnastics club to contact them directly.

Shepton Mallet Prison was built 400 years ago and has held ghost tours and been an event space since 2017.

The listed building is closing as a public space due to a disagreement between the operators and owners over finances.

Clare Tanner said for a lot of children, the former prison was their "second home"

Ms Tanner told BBC Radio Somerset the club had more than 200 gymnasts, aged between one and 50 years old.

The group has been using the site since the pandemic.

"We found out it was closing, which was devastating for us. I was lost for words about how I felt.

"It's going to leave everybody without a club, without a safe place for the gymnasts to be," she said.

Some of the gymnasts have competed in national championships this year

"I am honestly running out of options. I'm getting quite desperate now," she added.

Ms Tanner said she had checked "everywhere" in Shepton Mallet and surrounding areas in the hunt for a new site, adding the amount of support she had received had been "amazing".

"I just hope there is going to be a Christmas miracle for everyone here," she added.

Gymnast Milly, 15, said: "I love it here. We've been here for so long we've got so used to it and it's actually really nice."

She said it was "upsetting" to hear they were losing the prison space.

Alfie, 11, added: "I love training here, it doesn't feel like a prison at all. When we come here we just relax."

Ms Tanner said there were a lot of safety requirements to consider in a new site

A spokesperson for City and Country said they were "concerned to hear that the gymnastics club could be left without a place for training".

"Our agreement for Shepton Mallet Prison is directly with Cove Group, not the organisations that they let the space out to.

"If any other organisations use this building and are concerned, we would ask that they contact us as well via our website."

They said they had not received a notification from Cove Group stating they wished to end their tenancy agreement and were "seeking clarification" from them.

"We shall also keep the gymnastics club informed as matters develop and look forward to finding a way in which they can continue using this space," they added.