Many solar panels were damaged when they were blown off the roof of Burnham-On-Sea’s Ritz Social Club during Storm Darragh on Saturday (December 7th).
The high winds weakened the structures on the roof of the cinema building in Victoria Street, sending crashing down into the street below early on Saturday morning.
Paul Hale, manager at the Ritz, says it was “quite a shock to be woken up with this news from one of our staff on Saturday morning.” He added that the damage was still being assessed.
Police temporarily closed the street before removing the panels on Saturday morning. One of the falling panels also damaged a gas pipe on the south side of the building, requiring a call-out by a utility company on Saturday afternoon, above.
One of the screens at the Ritz Cinema has had to close this weekend after the roof damage caused a leak inside the cinema screening room.
A Ritz Cinema spokesperson confirmed: “Due to damage to the Social Club’s solar panels, leading to a leaking roof in cinema screen 1, we cancelled several showtimes on Saturday and these screenings are cancelled today (Sunday 8th) as well: Wicked 1.15pm, Paddington 3 4.50pm, Wicked 7.30pm. Anyone with bookings will be contacted directly. All other shows are currently unaffected.
Rectory Road remains closed today (Sunday). Victoria Street near Scott’s has some broken glass on the ground from the solar panels so beware if you are walking dogs or are cycling.
