Man, 18, bailed as mill fire enquiries continue

A cordon will remain around the scene of a major fire at a historic mill in Staffordshire over the coming days while the site is made safe.

There were fears parts of the Grade II listed Big Mill in Leek could collapse after the building was assessed on Saturday as being structurally unsound.

An 18-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of arson following the incident in which a number of homes were evacuated.

Some residents were allowed to return on Saturday, while others were told it may be a number of days before they can go back to their properties.

Those living at The Print Works, Belle Vue Road and Albert Street were allowed back while all other evacuations remained in place, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

Crews were called to Mill Street at 21:22 GMT on Friday. The service said six teams battled the blaze at its height and there were still four at the scene on Saturday.

No-one had been reported injured, the service confirmed.

"It's still a really challenging incident at the minute," group manager Martin Weaver told BBC Midlands Today on Saturday.

"The building is structurally unsound. We're working with the local authority building inspectors and we're going to have to bring it down to safe levels," he said.

There was a risk, due to windy conditions, that parts of the building could be blown over, he added.

David Payne, co-owner of the nearby Mill Street Kitchen told BBC Radio Stoke he had kept his cafe open over the weekend to help "give back" to the emergency service workers helping keep the area safe.

He also runs a delivery service, and said the closure of one of the town's main routes had caused significant difficulties for his business.

Despite this, there was "such a strong community" in Leek, he added.

"We've had people purposely come out of their way to try and support us - even if they've had to come on foot," he said.

Former mill worker Linda McTigue worked in the building when she was 17 years old and worked in a department that made embroidery silk yarn.

"It has been an eyesore for a number of years," she said. "It's sad that such a building has been left to go to rack and ruin."

She added: "Something's got to change. They've either got to do something with it or have a feasible plan to not just let it stand and go to ruin."

The building's owner, Atique Choudhury, told the BBC: "I'm very sad and emotional having been on a journey putting in time, effort, and resources and was getting close to seeing the building developed."

He added the building had been made secure for safety reasons and that English Heritage had identified it for rescue.

The six-storey mill dates back to 1860, according to its Historic England listing, and is one of the earliest mill buildings of its scale in the town.

It was last used as a mill in the 1980s and was then home to a pine manufacturer and workshop.

It has been derelict since 2007, according to local councillor Bill Cawley.

The Labour representative for Leek West on Staffordshire Moorlands District Council added he had previously warned about hazards and anti-social behaviour at the building.

Fire officials said they had received a total of 118 calls about the incident.

People in the area reported the derelict building appeared "completely burned out" by 23:00 on Friday and Staffordshire Moorlands Police said about 40 people had to be evacuated.

Residents told the BBC the building was "a piece of Leek's history".

"It's one of the mills that's never been touched, as in redevelopment, but there's only one thing now - demolition, I think," one man said.

Meanwhile, another local resident said: "It's just quite sad to see it up in flames to be honest."