Two arrested over school inferno
VIDEO & GALLERY TWO youths have been arrested on suspicion of arson following a massive inferno that virtually destroyed a Suffolk middle school.clear.
Dave Gooderham
TWO youths have been arrested on suspicion of arson following a massive inferno that virtually destroyed a Suffolk middle school.
Police this afternoon confirmed they have arrested a 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy - 24 hours after the blaze ripped through St Felix Middle School in Newmarket.
The young males, both from the Newmarket area, are currently in custody at Bury St Edmunds Police Station where they will be questioned by detectives.
The site of the much-loved middle school is now nothing more than a fire-ravaged shell as the full extent of the horrific fire that engulfed the building becomes clear.
Concerned parents, fascinated passers-by and shocked staff gathered outside the school to survey the aftermath of yesterday afternoon's blaze.
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As smoke continued to filter the grey sky, the building was little more than rubble with the roof completely caved in and windows shattered revealing the eerie inside of black, indistinguishable classrooms.
Fire and police chiefs were continuing their investigations this afternoon with crews expected to remain on site for the entire day and possibly a second night.
Surveying the horrific scene in front of them, many frantic parents were now waiting and calling for immediate answers with the new school term just a month away.
Tim Young, a former headteacher at the school who has spent more than 25 years at St Felix, said: “This has a special place in my heart and I am gutted. But my view is that the spirit of St Felix will rise again literally from the ashes.”
Anyone with any information about the fire should contact Suffolk police on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.