Stately home arson probe continues a month on

Five fire engines battled the blaze at its height

A suspected arson attack which destroyed a Grade II-listed building is still being investigated a month on.

Crews were called to the former Shotley Park Residential Care Home, Shotley Bridge, County Durham, at about 22:20 on 5 October.

The building, which was once a stately home and a Dr Barnardo's children's home, dates back to the 1800s.

Durham Police said no arrests had been made and inquiries into the blaze continued.

Liz Twist, Labour MP for Blaydon and Consett, has asked how listed buildings can be better protected in the aftermath of the fire.

There had been warnings the area had become an anti-social behaviour hotspot.

A change of use planning application for the property was approved by Durham County Council in 2024, but no further progress was made.

Melanie Calland's great-grandparents Herbert and Mary, pictured with daughters Delia (standing) and Edna, met while working at Shotley Park

Residents spoke of their devastation after the building was gutted, saying the fire had destroyed their happy memories.

Peter Wright lived in Shotley Park with his brother while it was a children's home and later scattered his ashes in the area.

The 67-year-old said he could not bring himself to go there and see the building in its current state.

"It's not only destroyed my happy memories, but also denied me to lay some flowers down in the area where we scattered his ashes," he told the BBC previously.

Local resident Melanie Calland said she was "absolutely gutted" when she found out the building, where her great-grandparents met in the early 1900s, had been destroyed.

Shotley Park was most recently used as a care home, which closed in 2023 because of high costs.

It operated as a Dr Barnardo's children's home between 1947 and 1986.