The prosecution of a woman accused of causing a major blaze that severely damaged 2 hotels in Sandown has been dropped, Island Echo can exclusively reveal.
Paula Skelly was charged with the offence of arson, contrary to the Criminal Damage Act 1971, following a devastating fire at the St Mortiz and Tarvic2 hotels on Culver Parade in Sandown on 2nd September last year.
It was alleged that Paula discarded a cigarette which set light to piles of rubbish and materials, causing serious damage to the properties owned by Julion Jayerajah and Farid Barsoum.
Mrs Skelly had a warrant issued for her arrest after she failed to appear in court following a summons, but it was soon realised the papers had been sent to an address that was years out of date. After being thrown in the cells, several court appearances and a not guilty plea, the case was adjourned for the trial on 5th August.
However, it has now been confirmed that the trial never took place as the case against the 62-year-old from Portsmouth collapsed due to a lack of evidence.
A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has told Island Echo:
“The Crown Prosecution Service was asked by Hampshire Police to consider whether someone could be charged with arson following a fire which spread to the hotels, St Moritz and The Tarvic on 2 September 2018 on the Isle of Wight.
“The Fire Report indicated that the blaze was caused when an individual threw a cigarette away.
Article continues below this advertisement “An individual was filmed on CCTV however this CCTV was not available to the CPS or the defence. As a result we had to offer no evidence against the suspect as we were not in position to determine whether the fire was started by the suspect’s actions.”
Hampshire Constabulary has confirmed that there are no further investigations into the case.
Both hotels remain in a state of disrepair with no suggestion of what the future holds for what is now another Sandown eyesore.
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more than likely end up getting pulled down & some luxury seafront flats built on the site most of the hotels in Sandown seem to be getting pulled down which is a shame really but its a sign of the times I guess
Yes because they are dives on the whole, as soon as Premier Inn opens up they’ll all struggle!
Coaching hotels in Sandown aren’t dives, they are tradition!! The opening of the Premier Inn will not affect their business
Good. I thought arson was when you intentionally set fire to a building etc. This always looked like an accidental fire without intent.
I watch this happening whilst walking on the beach. The fire brigade were excellent. I’m sure the whole of the shantytown would have burnt down if it wasn’t for them.
Fire report says where the fire started was a garage but it is known as a cafe “Rennie’s Cafe”.
I think that the owners of the premises have given the fire investigators the wrong information or they are avoiding for any further prosecutions of not complying the fire regulation.
At the time the of the fire the premises was filled with inflatable materials.
If they where inflatable, why didn’t they “blow” up?
Inflammable
My partner was one of the people that rushed into the buildings to get people out before the fire brigade got there and the reaction of one of the owners was a disgrace! They would definitely be hiding stuff from the investigators based on what he saw…