Arson suspects bailed after derelict hotel fire

Three men arrested after a suspected arson attack on a derelict hotel on the Isle of Wight have been released on police bail.

The fire broke out on Tuesday at about 19:45 BST at the former Cygnet Hotel on Carters Street in Sandown.

Fire crews from four stations across the island brought the fire under control and stopped it spreading, putting it out by about 21:00. No one was believed to have been injured.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the arrested men, aged 56 from Shanklin, 45 from Sandown and 43 from Newport, had been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to danger life and had since been released.

The hotel has been hit by a string of fires in recent years, with the previously most recent being in October 2025.

Schools have recently been urged to tell pupils to stay out of the derelict hotel as it is at risk of collapse after children were seen regularly entering the site.