Telford fire: 'Suspicious activity' spotted before fire rips through disused school building
A joint police and fire investigation is under way after reports of "suspicious activity" before a blaze at a derelict school.
A number of fire crews were called out shortly before 5pm to deal with the blaze at the former Endeavour Centre on North Road in Wellington.
People were warned to avoid the area and to keep windows and doors closed to avoid smoke from the building.
Video from the scene shows smoke pouring from the building, which is understood to have been empty since 2006.
A police cordon was put in place while as many as 25 fire officers tackled the blaze.
Ross Donnelly, station manager at Shrewsbury Fire Station who was the operations manager on duty, said there had been initial reports of people being on the premises, but that all people had been accounted for.
He said that a joint investigation into the fire had been launched with the police after reports of "suspicious activity" and signs of anti-social behaviour in the area.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact police on 101.
Last year it was revealed that The Endeavour Centre, south of Wellington’s Wrekin View Primary School, was the subject of plans to create a new care home.
In September Birmingham-based GreenSquareAccord applied to build a 56-bedroom care home on the site, saying it would provide "a much-needed social and care provision".
“The dementia centre will be part-funded by Homes England to provide a much-needed social and care provision within Telford. All 56 apartments will be classed as affordable rent in tenure," the company said.
