THERE will not be any 'scrums' for fans attending Rugby World Cup matches at the Olympic Stadium — as an Astley Bridge firm has supplied specially designed turnstiles for the venue.

Engineering firm Security Solutions, based in Waters Meeting Road, built and installed 96 turnstiles as part of the huge transformation project at the stadium, in Queen Elizabeth Park, East London.

The stadium, which will play host to the Ireland v Italy match on Sunday, is being developed into a 54,000 capacity all year round multi-use venue by Balfour Beatty.

It will host five matches at the Rugby World Cup, and from next season will become the home ground of West Ham United.

More than 150,000 sports fans have already passed through the specifically designed turnstiles, with the stadium playing host to the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games athletics in July and a Barbarians versus Samoa rugby union match in August.

A quarter of a million spectators are expected to pass through the turnstiles during the World Cup.

The firm said the biggest challenge of the project was the unique design of the turnstiles requested by the architects.

Engineers had to design turnstiles which would fit with the existing structure which supports the stadium roof, and ensure they fitted with the stadium's ticketing systems and evacuation policy in the event of an emergency.

The firm manufactured 48 double pods, housing the 96 full height turnstiles, from mild steel and powder coated in the West Ham United’s famous claret colour at its Astley Bridge plant.

The pods can be opened and closed, and had to meet strict tests showing it was capable of withstanding physical attack tests.

Andrew Davies, the firm's managing director, said: “Large projects like the former Olympic Stadium do throw out challenges for any sub contract suppliers but Security Solutions experience and knowledge of Stadia projects and our in-house capabilities to deliver the full turnkey solution from design, manufacture, install to commissioning combined with great teamwork throughout the company is what makes us stand out from the competition and underpins our success.

“We approach all our installations with the same amount of care and dedication from a single traffic barrier installation at an office car park to multiple crash rated road blockers at a nuclear power plant.

“We have invested heavily over the past 13 years in developing and testing our product range, training our workforce and providing a reliable service to our clients, all of this has allowed us to build and maintain a solid reputation as one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of security equipment."