Pledge to rebuild fire-ravaged community centre

The centre suffered extensive damage in the fire on Monday

The treasurer of a Cornish community centre that was ravaged by fire has said they will work to rebuild it.

Leslie Lawson-Kinross from Trelander Community Centre near Truro, watched fire crews tackle the blaze for more than five hours on Monday.

She said local people were "gutted" to see the damage and the fire was a "shock to the system" but the committee would "do our best to get the funds" to rebuild the centre.

Mrs Lawson-Kinross said: "It's going to take a lot of work but we do hope to get there and we will rebuild and... have fantastic resource for the community once again."

Leslie Lawson-Kinross watched fire crews tackle the blaze for more than five hours

Mrs Lawson-Kinross said the centre's roof had been badly damaged by the fire and there was also significant water damage inside as well.

She explained: "The sports hall with the sprung floor [is] waterlogged and will need replacing, [as well as] the main hall itself and the area the Children's Centre use."

Mrs Lawson-Kinross said the centre which was used by sports groups, local churches and family services "really meant a lot to people".

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze had started on the ground floor but had spread to the roof.

It said it had sent six fire engines to the site at 17:25 BST on Monday, with the fire taking several hours to extinguish.