WARNINGS have been issued by the fire service after a blaze was started deliberately at the derelict day centre in Upper Church Fields, Marlborough, which took two hours to put out.

Firecrews were called out the incident the Wiltshire Council owned single storey building at 10.20am on Tuesday morning.

Crews from Marlborough and Pewsey attended the fire as well as an aerial appliance from Swindon which stayed on the scene for about an hour.

A crew from Calne were also dispatched as it was initially believed that there were people in the building but they were sent back when it was established the building was empty.

The blaze affected a small area of the roof, approximately 10 per cent, and firefighters had to strip away roof tiles and used two hose reel jets to extinguish the fire.

Station manager Richard Humphrey, who attended the incident, said: “At first it was thought voices could be heard inside but this turned out to be inaccurate.

“We know it was set deliberately as it started from the outside in and there is no electricity to the building.

“The message we want to get across is this type of fire is a serious crime. By deliberately starting a fire it can divert resources away from something more serious.

“The fire itself wasn’t that serious but what is is the fact that it was started deliberately.

“Luckily the building is not next to any others and there smoke didn’t spread to any nearby houses.

“Although the wooden building is boarded up we think the area is being used by young people because of the large amounts of graffiti.”

Wiltshire Police were called by Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service at 10.41am and stayed on the scene for just under an hour.

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said: “Following this fire, our security team have ensured the site is safe and secure. Our building control team are also due to inspect the property soon.” 

They are now investigating the cause of the fire but Mr Humphrey isn’t sure how easy it will be to find the suspect because the area isn’t covered by CCTV.

All crews able to leave the scene at about 1pm and building control from Wiltshire Council have inspected the premises.

Anyone with any information on the incident should call police on 101. Alternatively call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be left anonymously if preferred.