Carlisle’s first 24-hour gym opens for business this morning.

Snap Fitness is in Englishgate Plaza, off Botchergate, in the former Big Al’s Sports Bar.

This is an American franchise, which has more than 2,000 outlets in 18 countries.

Manager Adam Bewley said that with a space of more 10,000 square feet, it is the largest Snap Fitness in the UK, “if not the world”.

He spent six years as sales and marketing manager for the Banatyne Health Club in in Kingstown, where he also had responsibility for its counterpart in Dumfries.

Mr Bewley is delighted to now be running his own business and thinks it will be a hit in Carlisle; it has already attracted about 500 members.

He said: “It is Carlisle’s first 24 hour gym and it is full of Matrix and Octane (manufacturers) equipment.”

The gym boasts both weights – including Olympic lifting – and cardio equipment, as well as space for classes and private shower rooms.

It will be staffed through the week from 7am until 8pm. Members are given a pass which enables them to access the building at any time of the day.

Mr Bewley believes there is a need for this kind of access in Carlisle.

“It is the way of life we have at the moment,” he said.

“We have got a lot of employers in Carlisle like Pirelli or McVitie’s where the staff work shifts and that doesn’t tie in with a nine-to-five gym.”

He has also seen interest from other kinds of shift workers such as nurses and police officers, as well as people who work nearby in the city centre.

As well as Mr Bewley there are two other members of staff – Luke Blaylock, the assistant manager and a personal trainer – and Sarah Hardcastle, a personal trainer. Mr Bewley said: “As the membership level grows I will be looking to take on more people.”

He added: “Carlisle is the biggest Snap in the UK, if not the world, they are usually about 4-5,000 square feet.”

The company was set up in Minnesota in 2003 and has since expanded into other countries.

Its first franchise in the UK opened 2012 in London and the company now has more than 20 in operation across the UK.

The company’s founder, Peter Taunton, was named entrepreneur of the year by accountancy firm Ernst & Young in 2010.