Delighted bowls club members have moved back into their clubhouse 18 months after they thought it would have to be demolished.

The Hove Park Bowls Club clubhouse looked doomed last January after arsonists started fires which gutted the building, leaving nothing but a charred shell.

Shocked members were worried for the future of the club when they were told the building would probably have to be demolished by owners Brighton and Hove City Council.

But their concerns turned to joy when they discovered the council would be rebuilding the clubhouse and this summer they have moved into a completely refurbished facility.

Club vice president Derek Owen said: "The whole episode was distressing but what's come out of it is fantastic. The council have done a great job and given us a clubhouse we can be proud of again. It's even better than it was before."

The new clubhouse has a kitchen, changing facilities, a social area and storage space.

One notable change has been the replacement of its old flat roof with a pitched one.

The bowls club, which has been running for 85 years, is now concentrating on making the place feel like home again.

It has started making plans to replace a series of wooden display boards listing previous competition winners, which were destroyed in the fire.

Mr Owen, of Colebrook Road, Brighton, said: "Fortunately we have found a written record of the winners, otherwise their achievements would have been lost forever.

"We are looking into the best way to have the boards remade, it's quite an expensive process. It may be that we can put them on to smaller boards."

The club has kept up its membership levels, due in part to the use of a temporary cabin clubhouse provided by the council last summer.

Now it is looking to share its new facilities and has announced plans to waive new membership fees this summer, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Hove Park.

Anyone interested in joining should contact Jack Galway (men) on 01273 883678 or Pauline Hennessy (women) on 01273 562392.

The club is planning an official clubhouse opening with Brighton and Hove Mayor David Smith next month.