STAFF at Fourteen Locks Canal Centre in Newport say they are devastated after a suspected arson attack on the building in the early hours of Saturday.

Fire crews and police were called to the centre in Cwm Lane, Rogerstone, at 2.51am on Saturday, where they found two separate fires.

The full extent of the damage is not yet known, but Gwent Police said there was smoke damage throughout the centre, as well as moderate damage to interior walls and roofing.

A police spokesman confirmed the fire is being treated as suspicious, and CID is now investigating.

The canal centre was closed to the public over the weekend, and its education manager, TomMaloney, said he was devastated that the building – which has a café, community meeting-rooms, and attracts visitors from all over the world – had been targeted. He said: “It is absolutely gutting. You just don’t expect this. There are a lot of people who have done a lot of hard work to get this place running, and this is just mindless. We have 50,000 visitors a year, and a few individuals are ruining a facility that so many people enjoy.”

Mr Maloney said it appeared the fire had been started from two different places outside, with damage visible on some of the external walls.

Fire crews from Malpas, Duffryn, Maindee and Cwmbran used hose reel jets, breathing apparatus, breaking tools, and a water bowser to put the fire out but there is also damage inside, particularly to the café and some of the meeting- rooms, and Mr Maloney said it was too early to say when the centre would reopen.“ Volunteers have come down over the weekend to make the building safe, which is brilliant, but we do need to have checks done on the electrics and some of the structure in there,” he added.

Mr Maloney said police would be looking through CCTV from the centre as part of their investigations, but urged anyone with information to come forward.

He said: “People who do this should be caught, and people should inform on them.

“We will not let them win.

We will get back open as soon as we can, and back to providing the service that people are used to.”

Fourteen Locks Canal Centre, which is run by the Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny Canal Trust, re-opened in 2008 following a £250,000 refurbishment.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gwent Police on 01633 838111 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Culprits must be caught

WE feel the upset being displayed by staff at Fourteen Locks Canal Visitor Centre after arsonists started a fire there at the weekend.

The attack in the early hours of Saturday morning saw smoke damage throughout the centre and damage to walls and the ceiling in two separate fires.

So many people have worked hard to get the centre up and running and in a moment of sheer madness their hard work is destroyed.

Just what sort of idiot thinks it is funny to set fire to a building?We cannot, for one moment, understand why anybody would want to do such a thing.

Whoever is responsible has no moral values and does not care about the community in which they live.

Many people use this centre and it is especially popular at the weekends. It is not yet known when it will reopen.

Police are currently looking at CCTV in the hope it will give them a clue as to who did it.

We hope the person or persons who did this are caught soon before they cause any more damage, or worse, start a fire in which someone’s life is endangered. Once they are caught we except them to feel nothing more than the full force of the law reign down upon them.