Teenagers arrested on suspicion of Hartlepool fire given conditional bail
The area around Wesley Square is still cordoned off
Last updated 8th Nov 2023
Three teenagers who were arrested on suspicion of arson have been given conditional bail after a huge fire broke out in Hartlepool last night.
Cleveland Police say they received reports of a fire on Wesley Square at around 6pm on Tuesday 7th November.
Officers attended, along with the Fire and Rescue Service, and closed Wesley Square and Victoria Road whilst they dealt with the incident.
Three males, two aged 15 and one aged 16, were arrested on suspicion of arson and they have been bailed with conditions.
The area has been cordoned off and road closures remain in place at this time.
Officers would like to thank the community for their patience whilst they have been dealing with the incident.
Anyone with information should contact us on 101, quoting reference number 221645.
Meanwhile, Councillor Mike Young, Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council shared his thoughts on their Facebook page last night:
He said: "It's devastating to see such an aggressive fire take hold so quickly. Some of the photographs and drone footage were unsettling to say the least. We're obviously very upset at what's happened. It presents us with a huge setback in terms of our regeneration plans and processes, but we're hopeful we're not quite defeated in the sense of moving foward in the future.
"I don't think you'd ever expect this when you're being so positive in trying to regenerate an area, you are always optimistic and hoping that people are embracing the kind of revival that they've asked for. The Wesley was backed by the public. It just adds to the kicking I think and it feels like we had a bit of a beating last night and it was hard to see that.
"One gentleman said last night 'it's almost like we can't have anything in this town.' Other people were too shocked to talk and in some instances it was quite sad to see reacting quite emotionally. I think you've got to remember this is a landmark in the town and has been since 1873.
"Surveyors have been on-site since first thing this morning, testing the integrity of the building, making sure the building en-masse hasn't been compromised and that work's going to take a period of time. We're hoping those results the come in and optimistically, we're hoping that the integrity of the building hasn't been totally compromised in response to what was a fairly aggressive and horrible fire."