A DERELICT Keighley College building has found a new lease of life thanks to the global phenomenon Pokémon Go.

Fans of the smash-hit mobile phone game can battle with computer-generated ‘pocket monsters’ at the empty building in North Street.

The former college premises, soon to be demolished by Bradford Council, has been designated a Pokemon Gym by the game’s creators.

It is among dozens of buildings, monuments and other landmarks in the Keighley area to be used as gyms or ‘PokéStops’ in the game.

They include the Temple Street mosque, the Salvation Army church, the Exchange Arts Centre in Russell Street, the town hall square cenotaph, St Anne’s Church in North Street and Keighley Playhouse.

Hundreds of fans of all ages have spent the past fortnight walking round streets, parks and public areas in Keighley and outlying villages, following satellite maps on their phones to find hundreds of Pokemon.

Once one of the creatures appears on the map, it also pops up on the phone’s camera, allowing the player to see the image against a real-life backdrop as they try to catch it by ‘throwing’ a computer-generated ball.

Facebook users are urging people to go to the Fresh Aire music festival in Cliffe Castle Park on August 7 because the bandstand is a PokéStop and a fountain is a Pokémon gym.

Airedale Shopping Centre spokesman, Maggie Fenton, said she has been amused to see so many people walking around the centre – where Rombalds giant is a PokéStop – with their phones out in front of them.

She added: “I ask if they’re playing Pokémon and they look up and smile.

"The diversity of the people playing is amazing.

“A couple of tenants have said they have lost weight while walking around playing Pokémon Go! My neighbour’s son has lost a stone in weight.”

Michael Keighley, owner of the Exchange Arts Centre and neighbouring Keighley Musicians Centre, said he had played the original mobile game Ingress, which evolved into Pokémon Go, and it was him that designated the centre as a stopping point in the original game several years ago.

He said. “We’ve had people coming in this week, and if they’re hanging around outside, we invite them in.

“We attracted some new customers because of it. They can sit down and have a drink while catching Pokémon.”

Businesses are able to buy ‘lures’ from game publishers Nintendo, which attract Pokemon to the location, which in turn attract players.