A Winchester health club has closed, leaving members out of pocket, saddened and confused.

Members were not told that Changes, in Jewry Street, where annual membership cost up to £500, had closed and were only informed by a note on the door.

It said the gym, in the basement of Sheridan House, had ceased trading on May 29th.

Tony Gaster, of St Giles' Hill, had a corporate membership with five colleagues from the Winnall firm, Biopharma. He received no information about the closure and said calls to the club were unanswered and emails returned.

"I'm sad. It was a well-equipped gym with helpful staff. I'm not surprised they've been unable to continue. Their rent for a central site in Winchester would have been a major burden for any business.

"I heard about one man who joined on May 28th and paid an annual fee, but had his credit card slip torn up."

Lisbeth Rake, of Up Somborne, who took out a year's membership last August, was also disappointed.

"They were hardworking people and really cared about their members. But it would have been courteous of them to have let us know, rather than us turning up to find a note on the door.

"It was a lovely place-they kept it beautifully and the equipment was superb. But I'm sure they're not out to defraud anybody-presumably there wasn't enough turnover."

It is thought staff knew nothing until the last minute. One reportedly approached the Aspirations Gym, at Winchester Tennis Club, to enquire about a job.

Breamore Investments own Sheridan House and MD, Glynne Benge, said the owners had to shut for financial reasons. "They weren't making money. They needed 400 members to make a go of it and they only had 300.

"They'd been trading for two and a half years and no matter how hard they tried, they could not get the membership level they needed."

He added there has been no interest in the site yet, but gym equipment companies had been collecting their treadmills and rowing machines, which had been leased to Changes.

Gym owners, Jerome and Jayne Eskatt, could not be contacted.