Search for body in hotel blaze

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Firefighters are investigating reports there may have been someone inside a derelict seafront hotel which caught fire in Weston-super-Mare.

The ongoing fire at the Royal Pier Hotel was reported at 1741 BST on Thursday. Twenty-five firefighters and five fire engines remain at the scene.

The top half of the roof and top floor of the building in Birnbeck Road have been destroyed.

Some seafront roads are closed and nearby flats have been evacuated.

A spokeswoman for Avon Fire and Rescue Service said: "We still have unconfirmed reports that there may have been somebody inside the building.

"Obviously our firefighters have been carrying out a search of the premises but until the fire is fully out we aren't actually able to establish whether there was somebody inside.

"We're hoping to do that later today."

She added that the walls of the hotel were still intact but there was substantial damage to the inside.

Fire investigators hope to enter the building as soon as it is safe.

The evacuees are being looked after by North Somerset Council and have so far not been allowed home for safety reasons.

In July 2008 the wooden pavilion on Weston-super-Mare's historic Grand Pier was destroyed by fire.