Fears for historic Ely House in Wisbech following second fire at the property in a month

Ely House, the oldest home in Wisbech, has been hit by fire for the second time in a month.

This time the cause of Sunday night's blaze was accidental, but it still took three fire crews over two-and-a-half hours to deal with it.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue said: "On Sunday (28) at 10.55pm one crew from Wisbech, one crew from Outwell and one crew from West Walton from Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service were called to a shed fire on Lynn Road, Wisbech.

"Crews arrived to find an outbuilding on fire measuring 10 x 5 metres. Wearing breathing apparatus, firefighters used two hose reels to extinguish the fire before returning to their stations by 1.20am.

"The cause of the fire was accidental."

On June 26 a fire in the outbuilding at the historic Grade II listed building, was blamed on arsonists and led to a local councillor calling for urgent action to safeguard the house from future vandalism and damage.

Councillor Dave Patrick had already raised concerns about the future of the house which dates back to the early 17th century and called for action by Fenland District Council to protect it from squatters by getting a closure order put on building.

He said: “A closure order will prevent anyone from entering the building, and will mean anyone who breaches it will face prosecution. The pictures posted on Facebook at the weekend are really concerning, it looks as if a hole has been knocked in one wall and you can see just how bad it is.”