SWIMMERS were forced to evacuate Crystal Palace National Sports Centre when a huge fire at an adjacent go-kart track filled the pool with black smoke.

Staff ordered about 100 visitors to leave the building, in Ledrington Road, Crystal Palace, at about 9.30pm on Friday (March 18) as the fierce blaze quickly spread.

Firefighters said the flames destroyed around 200 tyres which were near to the outside wall of the complex and damaged part of the main building.

Gary Evans, red watch manager at Forest Hill fire station, said: “Because of the intensity of the fire it damaged electrical supplies and made all the concrete come off the walls, and the rubber black smoke got into the building.”

He said the fire appeared to be arson, but a spokesman for the Metropolitan police confirmed officers, who were called to the sports centre, were not currently treating it as a criminal investigation.

Mr Evans said: “The go-kart track is at the back of the swimming pool.

“We think they broke into a secure area where people use the go-kart track to store tyres and spares and set light to the tyres, which caused a hell of a lot of smoke that got into the swimming pool complex.

“At that time of the evening they were doing swimming training and badminton, so about 100 people had to be evacuated.”

Four fire crews from Forest Hill, West Norwood and Woodside battled the flames and remained at the sports centre until midnight.

He added: “Police were there and we had to ask for the attendance of the borough structural engineer because damage had been done to the concrete struts that formed part of the integrity of the building.

“They had to be tested to make sure the building was safe."