Appeal following arson incident at closed down restaurant in Ellesmere Port

Police are appealing for information from members of the public following an arson incident at a closed-down restaurant in Ellesmere Port.

Firefighters were informed of a fire at the former Agra Fort Indian restaurant shortly after 7.30am on Wednesday 27 May.

They were able to extinguish the blaze before it could spread beyond a ground floor extension at the back of the two-storey building.

The fire caused significant damage to the extension.

Enquiries in relation to the incident are ongoing and officers are urging anyone with any information or footage that may aid their investigation to get in touch.

Inspector Ian Stead, of Ellesmere Port Local Policing Unit, said: “A fire investigator has confirmed that the fire was started deliberately.

“It caused significant damage to a ground floor extension at the back of the building, but the consequences of this incident could have been far worse.

“We believe that people have been going into the extension since the restaurant closed down.

“Thankfully, no-one was inside the building when the fire took hold, no-one was injured as a result of the blaze and firefighters were able to extinguish it before it had chance to spread beyond the extension.

“Fire spreads quickly and can endanger lives as well as properties.

“I would like to reassure members of the community that this is believed to be an isolated incident and we are determined to establish who started the fire and make them face the consequences of their actions.

“Enquiries are ongoing and as part of our investigation we want to speak to anyone who was in the area that morning and witnessed anything suspicious.

“We also want to hear from anyone who thinks they may know who started the fire, or have CCTV or dashcam footage of them.”

Anyone with information or footage that may help the investigation should call Cheshire Constabulary on 101, quoting IML 714844, give the details via https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.