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Appeal after fire destroys three part-built homes

Lisa Young
BBC News, South West
Yelverton Community Fire Station A house in the middle of a terrace of partially built houses is covered with flames. The structural beams are glowing with fire. The house to its left and the one to its right have flames on the apex of their rooves. The houses are lined with silver insulation blocks. Smoke is billowing into the sky.Yelverton Community Fire Station
The houses were empty and still under construction, the fire service said

Police are appealing for witnesses after three part-built houses were destroyed by a blaze in a new development.

Seven fire crews were sent to the fire in a row of eight partially-constructed terraced buildings on Prince Maurice Road, in Plymouth, at about 18:30 BST on Sunday.

Two of the four-storey houses were completely destroyed and on Monday Devon and Somerset Fire Service (DSFRS) said 80% of a third house had also been destroyed in the fire.

Devon and Cornwall Police are investigating the cause of the fire and asked anyone who saw any people in the building site before the incident to come forward.

Yelverton Community Fire Station The construction site the houses have been built on at night. There is a tall aerial ladder from which firefighters are spraying water onto the house below. The site is lit with large lights and there are emergency vehicles in the background. In the foreground are piles of construction materials.Yelverton Community Fire Station
Security personnel are on site and police reminded people not to enter

Police also reminded people not to enter the building site and said there were security personnel on site.

A DFFRS spokesperson said firefighters from across Devon and Cornwall had worked throughout Sunday evening and overnight, resulting in the fire being extinguished by 08:30 BST on Monday.

The buildings had been vacant as they had been under construction, they added.

They said the fire had affected an area measuring 65ft x 98ft (20m x 30m), along with construction materials.

A spokesperson for Callington Fire Station said: "Fortunately no persons were involved so the main action was to prevent spread."

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