Boy, 15, arrested over large blaze in city centre

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested following a large fire that broke out at a former Debenhams store in Canterbury city centre.

Eight engines and two height vehicles were sent to the empty property in Guildhall Street shortly after 20:30 GMT on Monday, Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) said.

About 30 people were evacuated from nine nearby flats and 50 firefighters were in attendance at the peak of the incident.

The fire has since been brought under control by firefighters.

A boy from the local area attended Canterbury Police Station on Tuesday and was arrested on suspicion of arson, Kent Police said.

He remains in custody while inquiries continue, the force added.

At 19:35 on Tuesday, fire crews and police remained at the scene.

A cordon remained in place and the cause of the fire was to be investigated, the fire service said.

“The earlier advice to keep windows and doors closed has now been lifted, but please do not travel to the area unless absolutely necessary,” the spokesperson added.

One person was passed into the care of South East Coast Ambulance Service due to smoke inhalation.

Canterbury City Council set up a welfare centre on Monday night - which was later stood down - to help those who had been evacuated.

"Our teams worked hard to support those that could arrange a place to stay for themselves and found overnight accommodation for those that could not," a council spokesperson said.

Neil Griffiths, assistant director of response at KFRS, previously said he was worried about "protecting the city of Canterbury from the fire spread".

He said one of the service's priorities was to deal with the incident as quickly as possible to limit the disruption in the town.

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