Arrests follow Bardsey fire

17 Feb

Four people have been arrested on suspicion of arson following a major fire in Bardsey which saw roads closed, homes evacuated, many more without power and bus services to East Keswick suspended.

Emergency services were called to an incident at the junction of The Drive and Keswick Lane in Bardsey Saturday night. A hedge on the corner of The Drive was ablaze, fed by a suspected leak from the gas mains.

A number of neighbouring properties on The Drive/Keswick Lane were evacuated Saturday night due to their proximity to the fire  and a cordon placed on the area while engineers worked on the site. Over a hundred properties had their electric power turned off for twelve hours for safety reasons. Keswick Lane was closed for nearly 24 hours to allow emergency services to access to the area. X99 buses were not serving East Keswick until Keswick Lane was reopened.

The houses immediately located close to the site were evacuated overnight. Police officers were on the ground to assist residents to gain temporary access to their property, for example to collect medication. There are no reports of any injuries.

There is a live police investigation continuing. If anyone feels they have information to help the Police they are asked to phone 101