Police have charged a 15-year-old in connection with a fire that gutted a pound shop in northern Scotland.
Emergency services rushed to the Poundland store on Elgin's High Street on the evening of Friday August 12. Ten crews of firefighters are believed to have taken around six hours to tackle the blaze, which has left the shop with "extensive" damage.
One person was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but no serious injuries were reported. Police and fire chiefs in Moray launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, determined it was suspicious, and announced on Friday August 19 that a teenager had been arrested.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 6.10pm on Friday, 12 August, 2022, officers were called to a report of a fire within a building on High Street, Elgin. A 15-year-old male youth has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
"A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal."
The incident was branded "very concerning" by local MP and MSP, Scottish Tories leader Douglas Ross, who has thanked emergency services for their response to the crisis.
Poundland manager Gerry McAloon has also praised his staff for their quick thinking after the fire broke out a week ago. In a post on the Poundland Elgin Facebook page, he said: "On Friday evening, just before closing time, colleagues here at Elgin safely evacuated the premises after a fire broke out.
"I’m extremely proud of them for their quick action and for the rapid attendance of the fire service from Eigin and elsewhere in Moray. We’re grateful there were no injuries.
"I’m thankful too for their quick action in extinguishing the fire and stopping its spread. We don’t know when we’ll be in a position to reopen the store – it’s clear at this early stage, there’s extensive damage to the shop floor – and full assessments won’t be made until next week.
"But we’ll keep you up-to-speed with the situation as we know more about the impact of the fire. In the meantime we sincerely apologise to customers for our unforeseen closure – and to surrounding businesses impacted by last night’s events.
"I’ll be doing all I can to look after my team here at the store and putting all our energies into re-opening as soon as we’re able."
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