Second teenage boy arrested after fire at school

A second teenage boy has been arrested in connection with a large fire at an abandoned building once used as a school.

Emergency services were called to the former Parkway Middle School on Park Road, in Haverhill, Suffolk, at 20:20 BST on Tuesday.

About 70 firefighters from the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service tackled the blaze for 19 hours before ending operations at 16:01 on Wednesday.

Suffolk Police arrested a 15-year-old boy on Wednesday on suspicion of criminal damage - arson not endangering life, before arresting a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of the same offence on Thursday.

Det Sgt Paul Cappleman said: "We believe a number of people may have been involved in this and that locally many people were either present in the area at the time or have knowledge of who may have been responsible.

"This was an incredibly serious incident, and we would like to speak to anyone with information to ascertain exactly what happened that evening."

The 14-year-old was released on bail until 14 July, while the 15-year-old boy was bailed to return to police on 22 June.

Before arriving at the scene, the fire service said it had received more than 60 calls about the blaze, which police officers and paramedics were also called to.

It said that 90% of the building had collapsed and advised residents to keep all doors and windows closed, with the smoke being seen for miles around the area.

No injuries were reported, and firefighters worked through the night and all through Wednesday to ensure the area was safe.

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