A shocking fire at Ocean Beach Pleasure Park is "not being treated as malicious".
While an investigation into the cause of a huge Boxing Day fire at a prominent South Shields attraction is ongoing, Northumbria Police has confirmed officers are not currently treating the incident as "malicious". The blaze took hold at the Dinosaur Cove attraction, part of Ocean Beach Pleasure Park, shortly before 6.40pm.
The emergency services were called - including the police, fire and rescue service and ambulance service, as reported by ChronicleLive. A significant fire service presence saw the fire brought under control, but it still took around six hours for the area to be made safe and firefighters to leave.
A police cordon was in place on Saturday morning, with some road closures in place, but these have now been removed. The police confirmed a report would be handed over to the Health and Safety Executive.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: "Shortly before 6.40pm on Friday (December 26), we were alerted by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service to a premises on fire on Sea Road in South Shields.
"Emergency services attended the scene, and the fire was extinguished in the early hours of today (Saturday). Officers assisted the fire service by setting up a small cordon, with some nearby road closures in place, which have now been stood down.
"Enquiries into the cause of the fire have been ongoing, and it is not being treated as malicious. A report will be handed over to the Health and Safety Executive for their consideration."
Earlier, a Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service resources attended a fire in the Sea Road area of South Shields yesterday evening (Boxing Day). At the height of the incident there were six fire engines, specialist appliances, and three officers on the scene.
"The incident was concluded at 0330 hours and all appliances have now left the scene. We will be supporting partner agencies with the investigation but cannot at this time confirm the cause of the fire. We would like to thank Northumbria Police and North East Ambulance Service for their assistance."
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called to a fire on Sea Road in South Shields on Friday 26 December shortly before 7pm. We dispatched one duty officer and one HART resource (Hazardous Area Response Team) but were later stood down by fire."