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Arson probe into derelict pottery factory fire

Andrew Dawkins
BBC News, West Midlands
Ethan Saunders
BBC Radio Stoke
BBC A platform, extended from a fire engine, includes firefighters and is near the building on the right of the photo. Traffic cones are on the road in the foreground.BBC
The fire service said it was called following reports of smoke coming from the roof of the derelict building

A fire at a derelict pottery factory site is being treated as arson.

More than 30 firefighters tackled the blaze at the former Wade Ceramics factory on Westport Road, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, on Sunday.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which was called at 20:10 BST, put it out in about six hours and nobody was reported to have been hurt.

Staffordshire Police said it was treating the blaze as being deliberately started and its investigation was ongoing.

Parts of the roof appear to be missing from the building in the middle of the photo. A police car is on the road in front of it.
Staffordshire Police said its investigation was ongoing

The fire was out by about 02:00 BST on Monday, the fire service said, after they were called to the road following reports of smoke coming from a roof.

A man in a green top looking at the camera. The background, including a building and trees, is blurred. He has short, light-coloured hair.
Mark Dunn, who lives nearby, said he felt the derelict building needed demolishing

Mark Dunn, who lives nearby, told BBC Radio Stoke: "It's dangerous for them, [isn't] it? It just shouldn't be happening.

"But in my opinion [the building] just wants razing to the ground."

The cause was deemed to be deliberate and the investigation was left with police, the fire service said.

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