A REDDITCH gym was forced to close over the weekend after a 'high volume' of members from tier four areas attended.

PureGym in the Kingfisher Shopping Centre made the decision to shut on Saturday (January 2) following a request from police. 

Redditch changed to tier three restrictions last week to help prevent the further spread of Covid-19.

Officers issued one fixed one fixed penalty notice to someone who had travelled into the area from a tier 4 location. 

An email sent out to gym members said: “Unfortunately we have had to temporarily close PureGym Redditch.

“Due to a high volume of tier 4 members attending the gym, police have requested we close the club.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused during the closure. Our teams are working hard to reopen to the gym, and we will be in touch as soon as we are back up and running.”

Following the closure, a spokesperson for Pure Gym said: "We have made changes to our protocols to prevent this from happening including: freezing memberships of all members in tier 4 areas and reminding them of Government guidance about travelling across tiers, clear signage in gyms, and removal of any member in breach of protocol including passing their details onto police."

The Redditch PureGym reopened at 8am this morning (Monday, January 4).

Inspector Lee page said: “To help stop the spread of the virus it’s absolutely necessary that people follow the regulations and do not travel from tier 4 areas to tier 3.

“We do understand that people want to be able to use gyms and leisure centres and it must be frustrating for those who cannot due to the regulations – but these rules are there for a reason, to keep us all safe and to try and get back to “normal” as soon as possible. Those that knowingly breach the rules will be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

“We will continue to work with the council and local businesses such as gyms to offer support and guidance around the restrictions but where we come across a clear breach will not hesitate to take action.”