‘It could have been a lot worse’ - fire destroys entrance to holiday park’s main complex

A fire has ripped through the entrance of a holiday park’s main complex which underwent a multi-million pound refurbishment earlier this year.

Six fire crews rushed to Haven's Hopton Holiday Village in the early hours of Friday morning following reports of a fire on the site in Warren Road.

Firefighters arrived on scene at 5.20am with appliances from Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft north, Lowestoft south, Martham and Loddon all involved.

The blaze, which started on the roof of the main complex foyer, smashed a number of glass panels and left a gaping hole in the roof.

Earlham fire station manager, Alan Jaye, hailed his team's response which helped to prevent the fire spreading further into the building.

"The crews did a brilliant job managing the fire when they first arrived which stopped it causing more damage than it did," he said.

"It could have been a lot worse had it not been for the proactivity of the team."

The main complex houses a variety of restaurants and the state-of-the-art entertainment arena, The Marina Lounge, which benefited from a multi-million pound investment for the 2019 season.

Mr Jaye confirmed the entertainment arena was not damaged in the blaze as the fire was contained to the entrance of the main complex.

Operations director at Hopton Holiday Village, Gareth Brown, said: "The fire has damaged the roof space in the vestibule area of the main food and entertainment complex.

"Thankfully no one was injured and as the park is relatively quiet at this time of year, the affected area will be closed without it causing substantial disruption."

Mr Brown also thanked Norfolk Fire and Rescue service for its swift response.

One resident who lives near to the holiday park, but did not want to be named, said her husband saw flashing blue lights at around 5am on Friday morning.

She said: "If I'm honest I didn't hear or see anything but my husband did.

"It's the first time I'm aware anything like this has happened since we moved here in 2003 so it is surprising."

Other neighbours said they didn't hear fire crews arrive but did express their shock at the news.

Investigations into how the fire started remain ongoing.