A GUEST has been arrested after a blaze destroyed rooms on three floors at a luxury Cheshire wedding venue.

Fire crews remain on site at Peckforton Castle after the blaze which was discovered early this morning (Sunday, June 19).

County firefighters from Tarporley, along with crews from Malpas, Chester, Ellesmere Port, Crewe and Nantwich were called to the castle at 5am and contained the fire with help from neighbouring fire and rescue services including Merseyside, Shropshire and North Wales.

The fire is thought to have started in the drawing room of the Grade 1 listed building before spreading to hotel rooms and offices above. It took around 25 appliances and more than 100 firefighters to extinguish the flames.

Twelve hours after arriving at the scene, a spokesman for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We still have a number of appliances there and we are likely to remain there for the rest of the day.

“We have got the fire clearly under control but we need to make sure that everything is dampened down. The fire spread across three floors and it is also likely that we will maintain a presence at the site overnight."

As to the cause of the blaze, the spokesman added: “We are working closely with Cheshire Police and an investigation is under way.”