A FIRE in the first-floor toilet of Salisbury's McDonald's is believed to have been an arson attempt.

Police are now appealing for witnesses.

Yesterday, June 1, at around 5.10pm, Wiltshire Police and Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue service attended the fire in the Winchester Street restaurant, after reports of smoke in the three-storey premises.

A fire was located in a first-floor toilet, caused by toilet rolls being set alight.

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The restaurant had to be evacuated and the road from Queen Street to Rollestone Street was closed to allow the fire service to work.

Six breathing apparatus wearers used two hose reel jets to tackle the fire, and the stop came at 6.09pm.

The road was reopened at around 7.20pm.

Fire crews from Salisbury, Andover, Fordingbridge, Poole and Cranborne attended, supported by the aerial ladder platform from Westbourne and an incident command unit from Devizes.

Wiltshire Police says the fire is believed to have been started deliberately and enquiries are at an early stage.

Detective Constable Martyn Powell said: “As many are aware, this took considerable resources and generated a great deal of disruption not only to McDonald's but to the wider area whilst the incident was brought under control.

“I am happy to say that nobody was injured as a result of this incident, however, this could have been a lot worse and as such is being treated seriously."

Anyone with further information can contact police on 101 quoting crime reference number 54210052351.

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