Fire at disused hotel in Dunstable sparks police investigation

An investigation into a fire at a disused hotel in Dunstable has been launched after Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue deemed the fire to be deliberate.

Firefighters were called to reports of a building fire in High Street North, Dunstable, just after 6.15am, on Saturday, April 18.

A spokesperson for Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Several crews were deployed to attend the fire at a disused hotel in the High Street North, Dunstable.

"The fire, located on the first floor of the two storey building, was extinguished by crews from Dunstable and Luton.

"Firefighters limited fire damage to just 10% and 50% smoke damage. All persons were accounted for.

"A level one fire investigation was carried out at the scene and the fire itself was deemed to be deliberate. This was then handed over to the police for further investigation."

Bedfordshire Police is investigating the fire, a spokesperson for the force said: "Officers believe that the property was set on fire deliberately.

"No one was injured in this incident."

If you have any information about this, call police on 101, quoting reference number 40/2478/20.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper when you do your weekly shop.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price.

So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.