January is typically the busiest time of year for gym start-ups as people try to get on top of their New Year's resolutions.

Clayton Leah, who co-owns Ascendancy Fitness in Warrington, Cheshire, suspended new sign-ups on New Year's Eve.

The 31-year-old explained to Mirror UK that the unusual business decision was made to protect the experience for existing members.

"We thought this year that there was a real chance we could get a lot of sign-ups in the New Year - because even through November and December, we just continuously had grown in memberships," he said.

"That was a warning sign that in January, we could have a significantly busy month, and that would then just annoy all of our existing members who have been with us for so long.

"We wanted to try and break the mould. Try to take an unconventional approach and protect our existing members - that is the most important thing for us."

This is not the first time the gym has ceased signing on new members.

"The only negative response people have is a case of, 'I was going to join, but now I can't.' For those people, I say, 'Well, you should have joined sooner.'"