Fire chief 'open-minded' over castle blaze cause

A fire chief has said he is keeping an "open mind" over the cause of a blaze that tore through a Grade II* listed castle.

The fire raged in Armathwaite Castle, near Carlisle, throughout Wednesday night, with crews managing to extinguish it on Thursday.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service's incident commander Kieran Moyes said the building, which is privately owned, was unsafe to enter and his teams were working with the council and police to investigate how the fire started.

"We're keeping an open mind as to the cause at the moment but we will do a thorough investigation over the next few days," he said.

About 50 firefighters were sent to the castle in the 24 hours since the alarm was raised on Wednesday at 19:30 BST.

Drone pictures show the extent of the damage caused by the fire, which has ripped through most of the building's roof.

According to Historic England, the castle is believed to date back to the 15th Century, with alterations made over the years including an 18th Century extension.

The official entry into the listed building register said: "Originally the land was granted in 1444 to John Skelton and passed to his son in 1461, his father having carried out building at great expense."

Moyes said crews remained there on Thursday to "dampen down" the fire.

"This was a reasonably big fire for us," he said, adding it was some distance from the road "so there was a lot of logistical work".

He thanked the on-call firefighters, who work part-time alongside their other commitments.

"They could be working all night and then they have their own lives to go back to, whether that's raising children or working - it's a big ask and I can't thank them enough," Moyes said.

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