Biddulph Valley Leisure Centre will be given a state-of-the-art antimicrobial treatment in the battle against Coronavirus before it reopens its doors to customers.

As part of the easing of lockdown, gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools can reopen from Saturday, 25th July, subject to strict hygiene guidelines.

In preparation for reopening, Parkwood Leisure, which manages Biddulph Valley Leisure Centre, has invested in a cutting edge treatment as part of its efforts to protect customers and staff from the virus.

The product, which has been used by the NHS and London Underground, is sprayed over contact surfaces and works by a process called lysis, which is the disintegration of a cell by rupture of the cell wall or membrane.

This creates an antimicrobial 'spike', which pierces any virus or bacteria that lands, consequently rupturing and killing the cell and spread of the virus.

The treatment will be applied to all contact surfaces throughout Parkwood's leisure centres, including gym equipment, seating areas, changing rooms, bathroom facilities, doors and door handles.

Facilities will be initially retreated every seven days once they reopen; however, the treatment is proven to last for up to 28 days, irrespective of additional cleaning or customer contact. It is also water-based and non-toxic.

Peter Mills, Parkwood Leisure's health safety and compliance manager, said: "Even with regular cleaning and disinfecting, it is still possible for a surface to become re-contaminated by the next person who touches it."

"Antimicrobial treatment significantly reduces this risk of cross contamination and it also helps to target bacteria that can become resilient to more traditional disinfectants.

"It will be used across all our leisure centres as part of our preparations for reopening, and of course once we are able to welcome back customers."

He added: "It's a significant investment for the business and we believe we are one of the first in our sector to implement this technology; when combined with our full-scale reopening plans and processes, it goes a long way to provide the confidence and assurance that we are doing all we can to reopen our facilities safely."

To find out more or keep up to date with the leisure centre's reopening plans, visit their website here.