Mill fire is suspected arson

Police believe a fire that gutted a former textile factory in a Staffordshire town was probably started deliberately.

About 80 firefighters were needed to deal with the fire, which broke out in the early hours of Sunday at the five-storey California Mill on Ball Haye Road in Leek.

The 150-year-old building, which was unoccupied, had been due for conversion into a community centre.

Police are now studying CCTV footage in an effort to establish the cause of the fire.

The building is so unstable that officers have not been able to get inside.

They believe that when they do get access, much of the potential evidence will have been destroyed by the intense heat.

But police hope that CCTV footage from cameras at the Leek College cyber café, which is attached to the building, may provide vital clues.