A POPULAR Southampton nightclub has been forced to shut its doors in the run up to Christmas after a fire caused up to £60,000 worth of damage.

A total of 25 firefighters from Eastleigh, Redbridge and St Marys were called to Rhinos nightclub at Waterloo Terrace yesterday after a fire started in the electrical room of the neighbouring Co-op store.

A number of events are now being rescheduled including a charity fundraising event featuring Radio 1 DJ Fergie planned for last night and underground dance DJ James Lavelle on December 9.

Firefighters are blaming an electrical fault as the probable cause of the fire.

Nightclub manager Karl Crognale is confident the club will be open in the next two weeks and said plans to refurbish the club are already under way.

He said: "It's a bit early to tell when we will re-open. The fire took out our dance floor but downstairs is still OK.

"The damage looked really bad at first, but I don't think it will be long before we open again. But that depends if the damage is structural or not. Apart from the superficial damage I think we are fine."

Karl estimated damage to stock, sound systems and the second floor's dance floor could cost up to £60,000.

Karl is planning to reschedule a fundraising night to celebrate the life of Lucy Smith who recently lost her battle to cancer.

Lucy, who was in her early 20s was a regular at the nightclub's High Tide events and money raised was to be donated to Southampton General Hospital.

He added: "It's something that means a lot to us and we will be putting it on in the new year when everything is back to normal."