England’s ‘oldest hotel’ destroyed as fire burns for second day

Firefighters battled a huge fire at a 250-year-old hotel in south-western England for a second day on Saturday after part of the building collapsed and the interior was destroyed.
The fire at the Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter, which dates back to 1769 and claims to be the oldest hotel in England, began in the early hours of Friday after spreading from a neighbouring building.
“Fire crews are still at the scene working hard to get the fire under control,” Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement on Saturday.
The fire service said it had sent eight additional fire engines to the hotel, where “steady progress” was being made after a partial collapse of the front facade of the building.
Firefighters have confirmed that a gas main ruptured inside the hotel. Gas engineers are trying to isolate the gas supply.
No casualties were reported in the fire.