Derelict college fire treated as arson - police

A fire at a derelict college that damaged about three-quarters of the building is suspected to have been started deliberately, police say.

Plumes of thick black smoke could be seen from miles away after the fire started at the former Henley College building on Henley Road, with fire services receiving calls at about 19:15 BST.

Henley Fire Station manager Ryan Donaldson said 30% of the property had been saved from the "significant" fire.

West Midlands Fire Service said on Wednesday afternoon the blaze was ongoing but less "severe" than on Tuesday night.

At the incident's peak, 75 firefighters were in attendance, but 45 remained at the scene on Wednesday morning.

Mr Donaldson said he did not believe anyone was in the building when the fire broke out.

He told the BBC the fire service's priority had been to save part of the building and to protect local residents.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to the scene at 19:22 BST and sent one ambulance, two paramedic officers and the trust's Hazardous Area Response Team.

"Following a thorough search by fire colleagues, there were no patients and we were stood down," the spokesperson added.

West Midlands Police said no-one was hurt by the fire.

One member of the public told the BBC the building had also been on fire a few weeks ago.

The building has not been used as a college for three years but has since been a filming location for the BBC drama series Phoenix Rise and also used by West Midlands Fire Service for training purposes.

A spokesperson for the service said: "Good progress continues to be made as eight crews work to extinguish smouldering hotspots to ensure there is no threat of reignition. We expect to remain at the site for some time."

An electric substation was temporarily shut down overnight to ensure the safety of the site and the substation, but power has since been restored to homes.

Henley Road remains closed to traffic between Parcel Road and Deedmore Road, but pedestrian access has been reopened.

The fire service added: "We continue to urge members of the public to keep their doors and windows closed due to the smoke from the fire and to stay away from the area to allow our firefighters and other agencies to continue their work.

"Thank you to nearby residents for their patience and understanding during this incident."

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