A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after a UK gay club was engulfed in flames over the weekend.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from Pink Punters, a nightclub in Fenny Stratford near Milton Keynes. The Buckinghamshire town is about 70km from central London.
Thames Valley Police said they had taken a 51‑year‑old man into custody and urged the public not to speculate about the motive. There were no reports of injuries.
Firefighters said they received the call to attend the fire just after 2am on Sunday morning. People inside the club said they heard the fire alarm and that the venue’s staff quickly ushered them outside.
Chief Superintendent Emma Baillie told the BBC that people had been evacuated quickly and effectively.
“At this time it would be too early to comment on any particular motivation for this incident and we would respectfully ask for people not to speculate,” she said.
Photos of the venue show it suffered substantial damage in the blaze, with its roof now completely missing. Twelve fire crews were called in to tackle the inferno.
Pink Punters has been operating for 26 years and has a capacity of up to 650 people across multiple rooms.
