Crews tackle arson at former private school

Crews from seven stations were called to the fire, alongside an aerial ladder platform

Firefighters from two counties have been tackling a suspected arson at a three-storey former preparatory school.

The emergency services were called to the Moreton Hall site in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, at about 10:50 BST, after smoke was seen coming from a second-floor window.

The nearby Moreton Hall Health Club was evacuated as part of the operation, a Suffolk Fire Service spokesperson said.

No-one was injured in the fire at the former school on Mount Road, which closed in summer 2020.

Smoke was seen coming out of a second floor window at the building, said a fire service spokesperson

The fire has been extinguished, but firefighters, including crews from Norfolk, remained at the scene on Saturday afternoon.

Suffolk Police said it was treating the fire as a suspected arson and said Mount Road was closed at 11:20 and reopened at 12:45.

The force said the building was an abandoned one and it appealed for witnesses or anyone with dashcam or doorbell footage.