Bingo hall blaze 'not suspicious'

The fire started below the stage

Police say they are not treating a fire at a Grade II listed former bingo hall in Derby as suspicious.

The former Walkers bingo hall on Green Lane went up in flames at about 2330 GMT on Friday. Around 30 firefighters tackled the flames.

Investigations are continuing into what caused the fire at the building, which was previously the Hippodrome theatre.

The investigating officer John Caulton said crews found it difficult to control the blaze.

He said: "Because it's such an old building and a bit like a rabbit warren in a way, (it was) very dangerous for our people to go in there with very thick smoke inside.

"We located the fire actually below the stage. The smoke that was coming out the roof was obviously coming from the fire that had been burning quite a while (and) found its way up all the way through the building."

There have been moves to return the building to a theatre. Derby New Theatre Association, which represents amateur theatre groups in the county, tried unsuccessfully to buy it when it closed as a bingo hall.