Villagers revelled as hall burned

7:41am Wednesday 16th July 2008

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VILLAGERS were enjoying their annual fete at Kingham, near Chipping Norton, unaware that arsonists were setting fire to their village hall.

The fire started in an upstairs storeroom at two-storey Kingham Village Hall at about 8pm on Sunday, July 13, just as Kingham's annual fete was ending.

The hall had been left open so people attending the fete could use its toilets.

A villager alerted the fire brigade after noticing the West Street building was alight.

Firefighters, attending in two appliances from Chipping Norton and one each from Banbury and Charlbury, used six sets of breathing apparatus, a hose reel and a water jet to extinguish the fire.

The room was left badly damaged and its electrical system was rendered inoperable, which means the hall will be closed until repairs are made.

Kingham Parish Council, which manages the hall, does not yet know when it can begin the insurance-funded repairs.

With the venue closed until further notice, community groups have been left with nowhere to meet.

Parish council chairman, Cllr Keith Hartley, said: "I was surprised and very annoyed that someone should do such a stupid thing.

"We're just totally bemused by it all."

Parish clerk, Jacki (correct) Jones said: "In villages, you always have some vandalism problems but nothing of this nature."

Thames Valley Police's spokesman, Toby Shergold, confirmed detectives were treating the incident as arson.

He said: "We've spoken to witnesses and the investigation has started.

"We have a number of leads, which we will be following over the next couple of weeks."