Africa House: Local held over fire at disgraced millionaire's former home

Firefighters spent more than three hours tackling the blaze on Friday

A local resident has been arrested over a fire at a disgraced millionaire's former home, police have said.

Fire crews attended the blaze at Africa House on Woodbourne Road in Douglas at about 18:00 BST on Friday.

It was once the home of businessman Trevor Baines, who was jailed more than a decade ago for financial crimes.

The Isle of Man Constabulary said the male was held on suspicion of arson, but had since been released on police bail while investigations continued.

It urged anyone with dashcam or doorbell footage from the area at the time of the fire to get in touch.

Police said the building was in a dangerous condition and the grounds should not be entered

A representative said the property was in a "dangerous condition" following the fire and people should not enter the grounds.

Firefighters spent more than three hours tackling the blaze and extinguishing hot spots.

The fire service said the blaze had been contained to a left-hand section of the property, but tackling it was "made difficult" due the windows and doors being boarded up.

An aerial appliance was used as a water tower to knock the fire from above after it had broken through the roof of the property, it added.

The contents of Africa House were sold at auction in 2011 after they were seized by the authorities to be sold to help pay Baines' debts following his convictions.

At the time, the house was on the market with an asking price of £2.5m, but it has since stood empty for several years.