Gwent | Archive | 2002 | September | 4
From the South Wales Argus, first published Wednesday 4th Sep 2002.
TWO teenage boys have been arrested in connection with a fire which caused £250,000 worth of damage to a Gwent medical centre. The youngsters, aged 14 and 15, were questioned by Cwmbran police about the blaze on August 23 that gutted the Candwr Brook Medical and Dentist Centre in Stokes Court, Ponthir, near Caerleon. Patients at the centre's clinic and dental practice have had to travel to the Isca Medical Centre in Caerleon High Street since the fire. Firefighters were unable to save the building, which had been left empty and locked at the time the blaze started. Its roof was almost completely destroyed and the inside was badly damaged, with medical records and equipment ruined, and staff feared it may have to be demolished. Dr Ann Thomas said medical centre staff are all "a bit down" as they wait for the insurers to evaluate the situation. "At the moment it is all cordoned off and we have the loss adjusters in," she said. "It is very inconvenient for the Ponthir patients, particularly the elderly ones, to have to travel to Caerleon, but that is what we face for the foreseeable future. "We are a lot more hard-worked and pressured, and this is an unnecessary extra burden. We have an architect involved and the plan is to resurrect the centre, but we have a lot of bridges to cross before then, and we are monitoring the situation day by day." Following the fire, Gwent Police launched an arson probe and arrested two teenagers, who have now been released on police bail. Detective Inspector Paul Evans, of Cwmbran police, said: "Two youths aged 14 and 15 have been arrested and interviewed in relation to the alleged offence and a report has been submitted to the Youth Offending Team, who will decide what action should be taken against them." He added: "I would like to thank the community of Ponthir for their help in the investigation."
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