A building that once housed a regional daily printing press is set for a new lease of life as a climbing centre.

Entrepreneurial couple Michael Price and Amanda Haigh are launching a climbing business in the former press hall of the Hull Daily Mail.

The Mail still occupies part of the building on the corner of Spring Bank and Beverley Road, but the print hall has long been empty.

The building, now known as The Worx, was sold to commercial property landlords Allenby Commercial in 2016 and now houses a number of different businesses under its roof inclusing a gym and a children’s nursery.

Michael and Amanda were partway through a world climbing tour when they decided to quit their jobs and launch Mad Volume Climbing.

Said Michael: “We did a world tour of climbing in Thailand, India, South Africa and parts of Europe and halfway through the trip we woke up one morning in South Africa and decided to open a climbing wall.

“We’ll create an open, sociable space with a climbing experience that is going to be the main form of exercise for many people and a good alternative to a gym.

“We will be in the building in November and we plan to open in spring 2019. We will serve refreshments and food in the café and that will help us host corporate events – climbing is a great way of breaking down barriers and encouraging people to support each other.”

Property surveyor Charles Parkinson, who introduced them to the property, said: “My first thought about the press hall was that it’s unconventional! The height of the building is screaming out and there are limited industrial properties like that. It was a case of thinking outside the box.

“We thought about leisure use with the gym next door – and the first serious idea we had was climbing or trampolining.”