A fire at the former Cleddau Bridge Hotel site is being investigated by the police and fire services.

On Saturday, at 2.49 am, crews from Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Haverfordwest, Tenby, Swansea West, Ammanford and Narberth attended a fire at the property in Essex Road, Pembroke Dock.

The building in question was empty, and the fire had affected the ground, first floor and roof space of the building and had damaged approximately half of the buildings structure.

Firefighters contained the fire, to the north and west elevations of the building, before extinguishing the fire using three hose reel jets, two main jets and a ground monitor.

An aerial rescue platform and a drone were also deployed to the incident by the Fire Service, who left the incident at 9.53 am.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue group manager David Hancock said: “When we arrived there was a very well-developed fire in the rear of the building on the elevation that faces towards the river.

“It was well-developed on the ground floor and in the roof space. It had obviously been developing for some time.”

Dyfed-Powys Police have said that the fire was currently being treated as ‘unexplained’ and that a full investigation had been into the cause of the blaze.

Local county councillor Josh Beynon has stated that he welcomes the investigation by the police and fire service and hopes that if the incident was in fact arson, then he hopes that the culprits can be identfied.

“It is a sad moment when a once busy and looked after hotel is first abandoned and then burnt to the ground in the middle of the night,” said Clr. Beynon.

“I am extremely interested in making sure that the fire is investigated and if it is found that arson is in fact the cause of the fire, that the perpetrator/s are brought to justice.

“I would urge anyone who saw anything in the early hours of the morning on Saturday March 30 to contact the police.

“The building has a long and complicated history which started when the owners, the Kullar family gave staff a mere 6 days notice at the end of 2017 and did not pay them any redundancy pay or for their notice period, which they are of course legally entitled to.

“The building then was subject to a planning application during the summer of 2018 which was approved to turn the former hotel into a care home.

“As a resident of Llanion, I have witnessed and had numerous phone-calls about the mess in the grounds of the hotel as over the past few weeks, anything of value has been removed from the hotel as the rooms and building were cleared of assets.

“This was clear from the debris in the grounds which was everything from furniture to pots and pans from the kitchen.

“Whilst it would not be right for me to categorically conclude one way or another what started the fire, the reality is that the people of Pembroke Dock are now left with a half burnt building that serves as a sad reminder of its recent history.

“I will be following the investigation closely and I would again urge anyone with any information to come forward,” he added.

Pics. Martin Cavaney