Henley College Coventry fire: Teenage boys arrested on suspicion of arson after huge fire burns down college

Plumes of thick black smoke could be seen from miles away after the fire started at the former Henley College building on Henley Road. Fire services recevied calls at about 19:15 BST on Tuesday.

Fire commander Ryan Donaldson said 70% of the building had been damaged with the other 30% saved from the "significant" fire. Six crews continued to work at the scene on Wednesday afternoon and areas of reignition had appeared intermittently throughout the day, West Midlands Fire Service said.

At the incident's peak, 75 firefighters were in attendance and 45 remained at the scene on Wednesday. Mr Donaldson said he did not believe anyone was in the building when the fire broke out.

He told the BBC the fire service's priority had been to save part of the building and to protect local residents. A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called to the scene at 19:22pm and sent one ambulance, two paramedic officers and the trust's Hazardous Area Response Team.

"Following a thorough search by fire colleagues, there were no patients and we were stood down," the spokesperson added. Two boys, aged 14 and 15, were arrested on suspicion of arson on Wednesday and remained in custody, West Midlands Police said. The force added it planned to step up patrols in the area after reports of anti-social behaviour.

It has not been used as a college for three years, but has since been used as a filming location for the BBC drama series Phoenix Rise and also by West Midlands Fire Service for training purposes. Councillor George Duggins, the leader of Coventry City Council, said he felt "exceptionally sad" to see the damage to the site.