Arson probe after DIY store blaze

A major DIY store in Northern Ireland was badly damaged by an overnight fire which police said today was possibly started deliberately.

More than 100 firefighters battled for hours to bring the blaze at the huge B&Q store on the Sprucefield retail park outside Lisburn, Co Antrim, under control.

The fire destroyed the rug department and caused smoke and water damage to the rest of the store.

The Police Service said they were treating the fire as suspicious and appealed for managers at other retail premises in the Lisburn area to check them for incendiary devices.

They said the neighbouring Marks & Spencer and MFI stores in particular needed to be searched.

Yesterday a “crude but viable” device was found in a sports shop down the main cross-border road in Newry, Co Down.

Also yesterday, a fire destroyed a major carpet store in a retail park in Derry.

An initial examination of the shop to determine whether the blaze was arson proved inconclusive and a further probe will be carried out today.