Derelict hotel fire 'inevitable', says councillor

Crews from five fire stations were sent to tackle the blaze in the early hours of Sunday

A fire that broke out at a derelict hotel in a seaside town was "inevitable", a councillor has said.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said crews from five stations helped tackle the blaze at the Narrowcliff Hotel in Newquay, at about 03:15 BST on Sunday.

Councillor Joanna Kenny, Liberal Democrat for Newquay Central and Pentire, said the blaze was an "accident waiting to happen" as the building had been empty and was not secure.

"There's very little that the councils, either council, can do about it," she added. "It's private property."

Kenny said it was a "decaying complex"

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service's station manager Andy Hichens said crews were faced with a fully-developed fire on the fourth floor of the building when they arrived.

He said the blaze later went "through the roof and right through the depths of the building and to the ground floor".

'Top of the list'

Ms Kenny said she had been "very worried" about the empty hotel in the run-up to the fire as the building had not been secure.

She said a working party had been set up to focus on derelict properties in the area.

"Ironically we were doing a walk around of other buildings that we were worried about in this coming week with the police," she said.

"This one is going to be top of the list - it always was top of the list."

She said she was going to work with Cornwall Council to try to rectify the situation.

"It's terrible," she said. "This is the main entrance into Newquay and we have got this decaying complex that we need to do something about."