Hotel blaze 'might have been arson'

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Around 100 firefighters battled with an inferno at the Tarantella Hotel, in Sudbury, Suffolk, after receiving a call from a resident at 3.45am.

The fire brigade said no-one was rescued from the building and it is not believed anyone was inside at the time.

A spokeswoman said: "An investigation has begun. It is suspected it may have been started deliberately but that's just an initial thought."

Assistant chief firefighter Mark Sanderson, who led the operation, said the roof of the building had been destroyed and the first and ground floors "severely" damaged.

The owners of the business - two Italian brothers - are on holiday and have been made aware of the incident, he said.

The hotel, described on its website as "one of the area's most stylish hotels set in a splendid Georgian house", has 12 bedrooms, an Italian restaurant and banqueting and conference rooms.

Mr Sanderson said the structure had been made safe and it would be possible to restore the building.

Clusters of residents stood and watched as dozens of firefighters brought the incident under control.

Crews are expected to spend the day dampening down the building.