Council site fire 'may be suspicious'

A FIRE that gutted a derelict council building in Haddington may have been suspicious, it has emerged.

The former East Lothian Council social work building went up in flames at around 12.15am on Wednesday morning causing part of the roof to collapse.

Around 30 firefighters battled the blaze on Victoria Place using breathing apparatus and high-pressure hose reels and were still dampening down the smouldering remains eight hours later.

No one was hurt in the fire that broke out in the single storey building, which is now set to be pulled down.

It is understood reports were circulating that a homeless person may have taken up residence in the derelict building but the fire service confirmed no one had been inside at the time of the blaze.

A spokesperson for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: "Parts of the building that are left are going to be demolished and then we will try to establish what started the fire. Investigations are ongoing at the moment but we cannot rule out that it was started maliciously."