Floor problem stops blood donor session

By David Lennard

A BLOOD donor session had to be cancelled following problems with the floor of a council-owned building.

The session, organised by the Ipswich team from the National Blood Service, had been due to take place yesterday at Rifle Hall in Halesworth.

But when the public turned up to give blood, they found the London Road premises deserted and a notice pinned to the door.

It said the Ipswich Team apologised for having to cancel the Halesworth session, but had been left no choice because of the “weakness” of the floor.

The note urged donors to attend future sessions being planned at nearby towns including Southwold, Framlingham and Eye. It is not clear if the blood donor team will be returning to the Rifle Hall for future sessions.

It is believed the session was cancelled after part of the floor gave way when the team was setting up, although there were no reports of any serious injuries.

The Rifle Hall is operated by Waveney District Council, which has closed the building while safety checks were carried out.

A council spokesman said: “It is understood that a chair went through the floorboards while the blood donor team were setting up and they felt it would be unsafe to carry on with the session.

“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to the team or to people who turned up to donate blood.”

The hall is likely to remain closed for the next few days and people who have made bookings are being contacted and made aware of the situation.

The Rifle Hall is the largest council-owned community centre in Halesworth, but there have been problems with the building in recent years.

The weakness of the floor is known and council officers have put a maximum limit of 80 people allowed inside the building at any one time.

Halesworth Town Council members have been campaigning for a new community centre to be built to cope with its growing population.

david.lennard@eadt.co.uk