THE firefighter leading the investigation into the cause of the huge fire at the historic Crathorne Hall has said he is confident it was accidental.

Alan Bell, station master at North Yorkshire Fire Service who is leading the investigation, said there were "strong clues" about what caused the devastating blaze at Crathorne, near Yarm on Wednesday (October 1).

Mr Bell and his team have inspected the east wing of the property at which the roof was destroyed and have spoken to staff.

He said: "All we can say at this stage is that we are reasonably confident that it was not deliberate and there's no suspicious circumstances. We've got a number of facts having spoken to staff and are in the process of corroborating them. I expect to be able to say more in two or three weeks."

Mr Bell said the fire was believed to have started in the void area in the attic space at the rear side of the east wing. As well as the destruction of the roof, a total of seven bedrooms were destroyed and twice as many were badly damaged by smoke.

The fire started shortly after 10am and at its height about 100 firefighters and 18 engines from across North Yorkshire, Cleveland and County Durham were involved in extinguishing it.

At least two couples were due to get married in the Grade II-listed former home of Lord Crathorne, the largest house to be built in the Edwardian era, but have managed to find alternative venues.

Today Jonathan Cook, 29, and bride Kathryn Plant, 30, held a reception at the nearby Rudby Hall at Hutton Rudby.