People who want to improve their fitness and boost their health and wellbeing are being welcomed back to Dudley Leisure Centre’s gym.

The leisure centre was forced to close during the height of the pandemic and has been safely reintroducing facilities during the last few months.

The reopening of the gym will be a popular move with members, who have eagerly awaited a safe return.

In order to maintain social distancing and reduce the risk of Covid-19 spread, sessions are limited and must be pre-booked prior to attending.

Members can book up to seven days in advance online or by telephone and non-members can book up to four days in advance by telephone.

Crystal and Halesowen leisure centres have already successfully reopened. Gym sessions at all centres are limited to a maximum of 90 minutes.

The gyms are closed for a 30-minute clean between each session. They also close for two hours each day for a deep clean.

Hand sanitiser stations are in place at the entrance of all buildings and people are asked to arrive and leave in their gym attire as changing facilities are not currently available. Councillor Ian Kettle, cabinet member responsible for leisure centres, said:

"We are slowly reopening facilities in our leisure centres following a very challenging time and it is great to see people getting back into their exercise routines.

"In order to keep everyone as safe as possible we are putting a number of measures in place and I would ask anyone using our gyms to ensure they pre-book and carefully observe the necessary protocols."

For more information people can visit dudley.gov.uk/sport.