Locals have been warning for years that a derelict Newcastle care home severely damaged in a fire this week was at risk of a blaze, a councillor has complained.
Flames tore through the roof of old North Road Care Home in Gosforth on Wednesday evening, leaving a large section of it destroyed. Northumbria Police subsequently launched an arson probe and four teenagers arrested on Wednesday evening have since been released under investigation.
But Parklands ward councillor Robin Ashby has now called on the owners of the Hollywood Avenue property to pay for the costs of firefighters and police tackling the blaze, saying they have been warned about its perilous state for years. Developer McCarthy Stone recently secured planning permission from Newcastle City Council to demolish the disused care home and build 29 retirement apartments in its place.
