Thornton Manor fire: Crews battle blaze at Grade II listed building

The blaze broke out while a wedding was taking place at the venue in Thornton Hough

Firefighters have been battling a blaze at a Grade II listed wedding venue.

Crews were alerted shortly after 21:00 GMT on Saturday to reports of a fire at the historic Thornton Manor in Wirral.

Wedding guests and staff were evacuated and a police cordon was set up while firefighters attempted to bring the blaze under control.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service described the incident as "challenging" after the fire spread to the roof of the building on Manor Road.

Sean Martin, who was attending a wedding at the venue, said he had been "dancing away" when the fire alarm went off and he was asked to evacuate.

"The whole roof was just ablaze and in the upstairs windows you could see flames," he said.

"As the night went on the whole building seemed to take hold.

"What had been a wonderful day was cut short and spoiled by the fire."

Firefighters battled the blaze at the wedding venue and hotel overnight

The fire service said the blaze initially involved a boiler but this had been extinguished prior to their arrival.

However, further inspection revealed the fire had spread to the roof.

United Utilities, the Environmental Agency and Wirral Borough Council have all been advised of the scale of the incident, the fire service added.

Manor Road remains closed in both directions while emergency services are at the scene.

Thornton Manor was built in the middle of the 19th Century and has played host to celebrity events and government meetings.

In 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson met former Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar at the venue to discuss Brexit proposals.