Two teens arrested on suspicion of arson after fire at North Shore hotel

Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire started at a hotel in North Shore, say police.
Fire services were called out to reports of the fire at the Claremont Hotel on the PromenadeFire services were called out to reports of the fire at the Claremont Hotel on the Promenade
Fire services were called out to reports of the fire at the Claremont Hotel on the Promenade

Fire services were called out to reports of a fire at the Claremont Hotel on the Promenade at around 12.30am on September 18.

More than 200 people are estimated to have been evacuated after the fire started in a main escape route at the hotel.

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A spokesman for the fire service said: "We were called after some combustible materials were found alight in a hallway of a hotel.

"This was a potentially catastrophic incident, but thankfully the fire didn't take hold and had burnt itself out by the time we arrived.

"Evidence was collected to form an investigation and this was passed to the police.

"Nobody was injured although a lot of elderly people were inconvenienced by their evacuation.

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"The staff at the hotel worked well with firefighters to clear the building."

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: "We were called just before 1am this morning to a hotel on the Prom.

"It seems that somebody had set fire to some paper and thrown it into a ceiling cavity.

"A 14 year-old boy from Kilmarnock and a 15-year-old boy, also from Kilmarnock, were arrested on suspicion of arson and were taken into custody overnight."

A spokesman for the hotel confirmed that they were open for business as usual.