Arson heartbreak; WALES 'Devastated' thatcher offers reward after Celtic hut gutted.Byline: By DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. POWELL STAFF were 'heartbroken' after arsonists destroyed a mock Celtic Roundhouse used by schoolchildren to learn about Welsh heritage. Police are hunting the fire bugs who struck on Saturday at about 8pm.Witnesses said the flames were 25ft high and it is now a charred shell. The 'devastated' thatcher who spent four months making the hazel, pine and oak building has offered an undisclosed, substantial reward to anyone with information leading to a successful prosecution of the culprits. Visits to the Celtic Roundhouse was run by the Groundwork Trust of Tanyfron, Wrexham. Trust spokeswoman Van Griffiths said: "It's really sad. The staff are heartbroken. "We only found out about it when we came into work. The police are pretty confident it's arsonists." She added: "It's very much used by the local community, school children and volunteers." Visitors often learned about Welsh heritage in nearby classrooms then enjoyed a trip to the Celtic Roundhouse. It was opened by the Welsh Assembly's Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones (born 22 May 1949) is leader of Plaid Cymru, Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency. He was Member of the UK parliament for Ynys Môn constituency from 1987-2001. AM last September 2. The Trust says 1,800 pupils from 50 schools visited it. Witness Ian Walton Ian Alexander Walton (b. February 17, 1970, Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire) is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician. Political life Walton joined the Liberal Party at the age of 17 and held numerous positions at a local level in Hessle, Beverley Constituency and owns the neighbouring Plas Power Climbing Adventure Centre. He said: "The fire destroyed the roundhouse. This really must be heartbreaking for Groundwork, especially when you consider the amount of hard work which was put into the project. "We were alerted to the incident by the police at around 9pm. The flames were huge, about 25ft high. "Fortunately there was no wind about on the night, otherwise things could easily have been worse if the flames had spread. There is a large amount of woodland surrounding the site and there are also many homes close by." North Wales Police North Wales Police (Welsh: Heddlu Gogledd Cymru) is the Home Office police force responsible for policing North Wales. The headquarters are in Colwyn Bay, with divisional headquarters in St Asaph, Caernarfon and Wrexham. and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service The North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (Welsh: Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Gogledd Cymru) is the fire and rescue service covering the predominantly rural principal areas of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham in were called around 8.30pm. A Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said the blaze was started deliberately. Thatcher Patrick Hemingway, of Rossett, who spent four months on the Roundhouse, said: "I'm devastated. I'd like to offer a substantial reward for anyone who can come up with the names of the people who did this." (Ring the Groundwork Trust on 01978 757524). Ring North Wales Police on 0845 6071001 (Welsh line) or 1002 (English line). davidpowell@dailypost.co.uk CAPTION(S): The Celtic roundhouse as it was unveiled in September 2008 (left)... and reduced to ruin after arsonists struck on Saturday (right) |
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