Two held over deadly hotel blaze

Updated 08.38 Wed May 14 2008

Two people have been arrested over a hotel fire which killed three people.

The blaze at the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, claimed the lives of Joan Harper, 80, Peter Hughes, 43, and his mother, Monica, 86.

The blaze at the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall, claimed the lives of Joan Harper, 80, Peter Hughes, 43, and his mother, Monica, 86

A police spokesman said a 42-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman had been arrested and were being questioned at Newquay police station.

Around 90 people escaped from the fire, which police described as the worst the country had seen in 30 years, as it ripped through the building in the early hours of August 18 last year.

A murder investigation was announced by detectives who said they believed the blaze was started deliberately.

Mr Hughes, from Staffordshire, was forced to jump from the third floor of the hotel after trying to save his mother.

Police investigating the blaze have already arrested a 44-year-old man, who is on bail until June 17, and a 21-year-old man, who was bailed to June 10.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.