Ryde Castle Hotel will remain closed for at least a year
A hotel on the Isle of Wight is to remain closed for "at least a year" after a fire broke out during a wedding reception, the owners have said.
The Ryde Castle Hotel had partially collapsed in the fire on 17 March. Investigations are still ongoing to find out if a fireworks display during the wedding reception caused the blaze. Owners Greene King said the damage was "extensive" and the "repair work required to restore the building has not yet been confirmed". No one had been injured and everyone inside the historic building had been evacuated.
Police had been informed about the fireworks display at the hotel about two hours before crews were called to the fire. The 18-bedroom hotel overlooks Ryde Esplanade and Harbour. It is thought to have been built in about 1840 as a private family home. During World War I, the building was used as a hospital and during World War II it was an army headquarters.