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From a Folkestone paper, 1 June 1990. By Dam Lennon.
Arson Destroys Hotel.
Police believe a fire which wrecked a £600,000 hotel could have been
started deliberately only days earlier a Porsche car belong to Henry
Leach, owner of the "Hotel St. James," in Harold Street, Dover, was set
alight. Someone had put a petrol bomb inside the car after smashing a
window.
"Whether or not the two fires are connected I don't know," said Mr.
Leech, 35.
Police and fire investigators have been probing both cases.
Meanwhile Mr. Leach, a chef, says he is determined to rebuild his three
storey hotel which he has improved and redecorated since buying it 3
years ago.
"We will definitely be open for business again but when that will be I
can't guess," he said.
He and two others, hotel resident Bob Ireland and staff member Elizabeth
Late, escaped unhurt when the blaze erupted at about 10:15 p.m. on
Monday. They were the only three in the building and had been watching
TV in the basement.
Mr. Leach heard banging and noticed water streaming down the walls, he
rushed upstairs to his office and saw smoke.
A neighbour, who spotted the blaze, dialled 999 and 40 firemen with 7
engines and a turntable ladder race to the scene.
Using breathing apparatus they battled for an hour and a half to control
the blaze.
At the height of the fire all of Taswell Street and part of Harold
Street was sealed off.
Huge clouds of smoke could be seen across the town. People crowded
around Harold Street to watch the fire gutting the second floor and
ceiling of the fine 125 year old building and destroyed its roof and top
floor.
One witnessing the drama was district councillor Clive Hyde who lives in
Castle Avenue. He was alerted by his 22-year old daughter Jennifer just
as she was going to bed.
"He said:- "We could see the fire from our house. It's very sad because
the hotel is one of Dover's landmarks.
Mr. Leach's next door neighbour, Mike McFarnell, owner of the Amanda
Guesthouse, was indoors when a woman walking her dog rushed inside and
told him. He said:- "I brought in Henry and the other two for a cup of
coffee. Henry was in a shocked state.
Most of the building was damaged, including 11 of the 17 bedrooms, the
restaurant and valuable furniture.
insurance investigators was surveying the damage, along with police
forensic experts and fire officers on Tuesday "May 29th.)
Mr. Leach is a member of the Dover Hotel and Guest House Group and
McFarnell, its chairman, said:- "The organisation will rally round Henry
and try and help him every way possible."
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