Firefighters were called to The Venture in Caia Park at 3.30am after blaze tears through timber castle housing arts centre and chill out room
A children’s charity in Wrexham has been left devastated after a huge fire tore through its playground, causing more than £30,000 of damage.
The blaze, which happened at 3.30am today (January 6) at The Venture on Garner Road in Caia Park has left a timber castle which housed an arts centre and “chill out room” gutted.
One fire crew from Wrexham remains at the scene this morning and an investigation is under way into the cause.
Staff at the facility, which was launched in the 1970s to tackle extremely high youth crime in the area, told the Daily Post of their heartbreak, saying they fear children will now be “scared” in the community.
Rob Hill, deputy playground manager at The Venture said: “I got a phone call at 6.30am by a member of staff as local residents had been putting pictures on Facebook.
“I’m angry because being a children’s charity you do not expect this to happen.
“I think the local community will be concerned. It’s going to affect all of them as it is their children that we are here to work with. When something like this happens it affects everyone.”
Mr Hill says that televisions, a hi-fi system, furniture and arts supplies were also lost during the fire.
The playground will remain closed today as police and fire officers remain on the scene to investigate the cause of the blaze. It is not yet known when it will re-open.
Mr Hill said: “Until we can make this safe we won’t be able to allow any of the children on to the playground. It is just so unfair on the children.
“A lot of the children in the community treat this as their safe zone. They come here to play and to forget about any worries that they have outside of here.
“For them, some of them in particular, it will have quite an emotional effect because they will be scared and thinking who could have come here and done this.
“Of course parents could also think that their children could have been here.”
It is the second time in 10 years that the castle has burned down and this latest incident comes as the charity were awarded a grant by WREN to improve the structure.
Work was due to start in the spring to fit a new roof to the castle, but now the structure will have to be demolished.
He said: “To rebuild it will cost around £30,000. We won’t be able to find that right now.”
Mr Hill added: “We now have the cost of clearing the site as we have to dispose of it and then it has to be rebuilt.”
The Venture was set up in 1978 in response to extremely high youth crime and a lack of facilities within Caia Park.
It has more than 1,000 children registered aged between five and 15 – with around 130 a day using the play facilities at the height of summer.
Mr Hill said: "The staff here put an awful lot of time and effort and energy into looking after the children in the community.
"When something like this happens they take it very personally. They feel it is a direct attack on them."
North Wales Police are asking anyone with any information, or who witnessed anything relating to the fire to call 101, quoting reference number U002387.
A spokesman for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were called at 3.32am to a large wooden structure that was on fire. Two crews from Wrexham attended and used four hose reel jets and a main jet to extinguish the fire. It caused 90% damage to the structure and 60% to an office.
"One crew from Wrexham remains at the scene this morning and we are investigating the cause."
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-charitys-heartache-after-fire-10693130
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