IT IS believed a devastating fire which swept through an insurance firm in Chester city centre was started deliberately.

People were evacuated from their homes and businesses were badly damaged as the blaze ripped through Endsleigh Insurance and Jessops in Grosvenor Street. Evacuees were taken to Chester Town Hall as fire-fighters took on the intense heat.

DC Jim Hendry of Chester's Specialist Investigation Unit (SIU) is heading an investigation aiming to identify who was responsible.

He said: 'We're still at a very early stage in the investigation and I've got to speak to all the staff in the premises to find out who was last in. We'll also be speaking to residents at the back of the building.

'It's also a case of checking up and comparing the reports compiled by the fire service, the SIU investigation report and that compiled by the independent insurance investigators.'

CCTV footage will be sifted and police are hoping forensic evidence has survived the blaze.

Endsleigh spokesman Tim Larsen said: 'We've not been contacted by the police yet. The blaze broke out in the car park at the rear not in our offices.

'The car park is accessed by a gate which is open in the daytime but closed at night. A pedestrian could have easily got into the area.'

The fire began at 11pm on Monday, November 27. More than a dozen pumps from stations across the county and Wrexham were involved in the operation, which lasted 18 hours.

Initial estimates are that the End-sleigh branch will remain closed for months as repairs are carried out. A poster in the shop window redirects customers to the University of Chester, where the staff are now operating.

Jessops suffered more damage and customers' pictures were destroyed.

A company spokesman said staff were providing police with every assistance but declined to comment further.

Jessops is now solely operating from its St Werburgh Street store.

Gas men save day

Robbie Gerrard, of Christleton, and colleague Mike McGann, of Ellesmere Port, were asleep at home when they got the call to attend the fire.

Mr Gerrard, a National Grid/ Transco rescue and repair man, said: 'It was lashing down with rain and the garage underneath the Jessops and Endsleigh was full of smoke.

'We had to put our lives on the line to make sure three gas mains boxes did not blow and the fire brigade could get on with putting the fire out.

'It was impossible to locate the stop valve so we had to form a temporary repair.'

'We get paid for this but, even so, it was a high risk.'

TWO gas men risked life and limb to prevent the Grosvenor Street blaze from blowing out of control.