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Derelict hotel fire being treated as arson

Pacemaker Firefighters and a fire engine outside the derelict Railway Hotel in Enniskillen. There is smoke coming out of the top of the building and fire damage is visible on the roof. Pacemaker
Forthill Street was closed while emergency services tackled the fire

Police are treating a fire at a derelict hotel in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh as arson.

Nine appliances and more than 40 firefighters attended the scene of the blaze at the former Railway Hotel on Forthill Street.

The fire was reported to police shortly after 05:00 BST on Wednesday.

The street was closed to traffic while the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) brought the fire under control. It reopened on Wednesday night.

Police said the building had been destroyed as a result of the incident.

Pacemaker Police tape in the forefront of the image. In the background is the derelict Railway Hotel in Enniskillen. There are firefighters and a fire engine outside. There is smoke coming out of the top of the building and fire damage is visible on the roof. Pacemaker
Firefighters stopped the fire spreading to an adjacent art gallery and bookmakers

'Very sad'

BBC News NI south west reporter Julian Fowler said on Wednesday that the fire was a very sad sight for the town.

He added the hotel meant a lot to many people and was a local landmark.

The hotel closed in 2015 and, since then, it has been boarded up and derelict and has been the subject of anti-social behaviour and previous fires.

Detectives are asking anyone with information or who saw or captured footage of any suspicious activity in the area to contact them.