THE cause of a blaze which ripped through Hartlepool Snooker Club at the weekend is still unexplained.

Police and fire investigators said that they were unable to get into the building to begin their inquiry because it was still being structurally assessed.

A police spokeswoman said: “We’re treating it as unexplained at the minute.”

The fire started at 3.30am on Sunday morning and ripped through the two-storey building in Green Street. Six fire crews from across Teesside were drafted in to tackle the fire.