FIRE crews are tackling a large fire at a derelict Victorian mansion tonight.
Nine fire crews are at Tunstall Court, off The Parade, in Hartlepool.
The emergency services were called at 7.48pm to a fire in the roof.
It is now thought that the fire has been confined to an annexe at the back of the property.
The building has been derelict since it was sold by Hartlepool Borough Council in March 2005 and has been constantly targeted by arsonists and vandals.
The sprawling mansion, which boasted a ballroom, a swimming pool and generous gardens, was originally built for the Furness ship building family in the West View area of Hartlepool in the 19th Century.
Hartlepool council bought the building in 1948 and ran it as a training centre for apprentices in joinery and landscape gardening, before it closed in 2002 because of soaring running costs.
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