THE fire that gutted the Red and Black Social Club in Tavistock last month 'was likely to be deliberately started', concluded the investigating officer from the fire service.

The fire, which devastated the clubhouse, caused thousands of pounds of damage and is a big setback to Tavistock Football Club and the sporting community in the town, who use the facility.

The flames spread from the changing rooms into the kitchen before causing severe damage to the bar area.

Fire crews from Tavistock and Yelverton dealt with the blaze, which started in the early hours of February 2.

There was evidence of a break-in to the building at the time and the police are regarding the incident as one of arson.

Although the fire investigator could not confirm it as officially an 'act of arson' he did say that he concluded it was deliberate.

Ken Anderson, a fire service group manager and the officer conducting the investigation into the incident, said: 'We looked at the possible ignition sources as the seat of the fire.

'Because of the level of damage that had taken place in the wing of the building there appears to be a second seat of fire, which we thought may be electrical.

'However, it was not‚ this second seat could have been caused by dripping sarking (bitumen) from the tiles covering the roof —droplets dripped down, spreading the connection between the two seats of fire.'

He ruled out any evidence of any electrical activity as the cause, but as the clubhouse was so badly damaged down to a low level, he said it was difficult to be certain of the cause.

However, he did add: 'Bearing in mind the evidence of a break-in, and there was a plastic bin found in the area which could have been set on fire, I can only conclude that the fire was likely to have been started deliberately.'

Mr Anderson said he wanted to stress to people the importance of taking steps to avoid such fires.

'Fire is a very dangerous occurrence, especially for members of the public involved and especially for the firefighters who have to deal with it.

'I urge people to be always on their guard to prevent any potential fire hazards, to always be vigilant of and report any incident as soon as possible to the emergency services.'