Shropshire Star

Teenagers held after fires lit in Market Drayton public toilets

Several teenagers were held by police after fires were started deliberately in public toilets.

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Market Drayton Swimming & Fitness Centre

Fire crews from Market Drayton and Hodnet attended the toilets near Market Drayton Swimming & Fitness Centre, off Newtown, at about 4.30pm on Sunday when smoke was reported to be coming from the toilet block.

They found smoke in the male and female toilets, caused by fires that had been set with paper and cardboard. The fires had died out by the time the officers arrived.

A statement from the Market Drayton fire station said: "A positive pressure fan was used to clear the smoke, which then allowed the incident commander to carry out an investigation into the cause.

"We are saddened to report that small fires had been started deliberately in both blocks, which involved a quantity of paper and cardboard.

"There was no structural damage to the building, but a mess had been caused in both areas.

"Our colleagues from West Mercia Police attended the scene, and detained a number of young teenagers for questioning in relation to the fires.

"This sort of mindless fire-setting tied up two fire appliances, an operations officer and three police units, when all could have been required to attend more serious incidents."

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