ARSONISTS have been blamed for a fire which swept through a derelict industrial site last night causing a blaze which could be seen for up to 10 miles.
It took 25 firefighters four hours to extinguish the flames at the DERA North Site in Leigh Sinton Road, Malvern.
The main building was destroyed and outhouses damaged in the fire.
Alec Mackie, of Hereford and Worcester's Fire Rescue Service, said that nobody was hurt.
"At the moment the cause of the fire is billed as suspicious," he said. "The smoke and the flames could be seen from the outskirts of Worcester."
Firefighters, from Malvern, Worcester and Bromyard were forced to tackle the blaze from outside the unstable three-storey building. "We didn't want to put firefighters' lives at risk by entering the building," added Mr Mackie. "The roof collapsed as we were there."
Crews were called at about 8.50pm and returned to the scene this morning to inspect the site.
The site, which has been empty for a number of years, used to be owned by the Ministry of Defence. Persimmon Homes, which nows owns the site, will be issuing a statement once it has inspected the area.
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