ARSONISTS are being blamed for a blaze that gutted part of a vacant college site.

A total of 26 firefighters tackled the blaze at Freebrough Community College, in Brotton, east Cleveland, which was earmarked for demolition next week.

Officers from Saltburn, Skelton, Guisborough, Loftus and Redcar battled for more than an hour to bring the blaze under control at the former Warsett School.

They remained at the scene for a further hour-and-a-half after the fire started at about 6.30pm on Monday night.

Cleveland Police are to carry out investigations into the blaze and officers from the arson investigation unit are expected to attend the scene.

Outline planning permission has already been granted to create a £14.5m building to accommodate 1,000 pupils at the old site.

Demolition was due to start next week but Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council are now looking to have workmen on site sooner.

Cleveland Fire Brigade's Assistant Divisional Officer Kevin Harrison, the officer in charge at the scene, said: "This has been a fierce fire, started deliberately, which saw the whole of the wing engulfed in flames, with a potential to spread rapidly.

"Our first priority was to stop it spreading, keep it in the area already destroyed and prevent it moving into the main school and another wing.

"It has been a relatively difficult job."

The site, which has 24-hour security and fencing, was also being inspected by council officers yesterday.

Lionel Danby, the council's education department project manager, said: "We are extremely concerned about what has happened.

"We have had some incidents of vandalism before but nothing on this appalling scale."

He added: "It has been impossible to start demolition before the new year because, although the site is vacant, we needed to disengage all the services, which were linked to the nearby Kilton Thorpe School."

Outline planning permission has already been granted to create a new building, which will also be for community use.

A shortlist of contractors will be bidding for the construction work, scheduled to be completed late next year.