14-year-old girl arrested following Woolton Hall fire
The fire broke out earlier this week, devastating one of Liverpool's oldest buildings
Merseyside Police have arrested a 14-year-old girl following a huge fire at Woolton Hall on Tuesday evening (19 August).
At around 8.20pm, emergency services were called to reports the derelict building was on fire and that a large group of young people had been seen in the grounds.
Dozens of firefighters worked through the night to put it out.
A joint investigation between the Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service is ongoing to establish the cause of the fire, but they say that from initial inquiries it is believed to be deliberate.
A 14-year-old girl from Liverpool has questioned on suspicion of arson and conditionally bailed.
Detective Inspector Daniel McWhinnie said: “This appears to have been an extremely reckless act at a historic building that has stood at the site for hundreds of years.
“We know the community will be rightly shocked by what happened and we are determined to find all those responsible.
“We received reports of youths congregating near the hall shortly before the fire was reported, and we would appeal to anyone who was there or knows who was there to contact police.
“If you are a parent or guardian in the area and your child was out that night, we ask that you enquire about their movements and what they might know.
“If you were driving in the area of Speke Road on Tuesday evening and captured anything on dashcam that you think in hindsight may be useful to our enquiries, please get in touch.
“We are carrying out a number of lines of enquiry, including speaking to potential witnesses and assessing CCTV in the area, but I would ask for anyone who knows anything to contact us as soon as possible.”
Anyone with information should contact Merseyside Police social media desk via X @MerPolCC or on Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also report information via their website, quoting incident reference 25000688649.