TWO Hyndburn people have been arrested on the first anniversary of an inferno that ripped through a holiday hotel, killing three people.

The Penhallow Hotel, in Newquay, Cornwall, was full of holidaymakers on a trip organised by Great Harwood company Robinson’s Travel when the fire caught hold in the early hours of Saturday 18 August last year.

Following painstaking inquiries by fire service investigators and independent experts, it was established that the fire had been started deliberately by a naked flame.

Four people have now been arrested in connection with the fire, including the hotel’s former general manager, Andy Woollam, 42, formerly of Great Harwood, and his wife Sarah, 36, from Oswaldtwistle.

The couple and two men aged 21 and 44, who have not been identified, have been released on bail until 2 September.

Detective Constable Darren Lockley, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "One year on from the fire our thoughts are with the families of those who died as they continue to look for answers.

"The investigation has been extremely thorough and methodical and a wealth of material has been accumulated, including 3,500 documents and around 1,000 statements.

"The case will not be closed until the matter is resolved. Ten officers are still working on it and they will do so until we can give the families the answers they deserve."

A retired couple from Church were among the 86 guests staying at the hotel when the fire broke out.

Sam and Irene Moore, aged 70 and 63 respectively, of Windsor Avenue, Church, said in the devastating aftermath: "If it wasn’t for the night porter who unlocked the back door and shouted to get people’s attention, we would have been in real trouble.

"Some people were screaming and panicking. It was dreadful. The building went up in a matter of minutes."

When the fire broke out the hotel was close to its capacity. Most of the guests managed to get out but teacher Peter Hughes, 43, his mother Monica, 86, and Joan Harper, 80, from Staffordshire, all perished in the fire.

Devon and Cornwall Police completed their investigation file and passed it to the Crown Prosecution Service in July. The police and the CPS will now meet sometime before the end of this month to decide whether charges will be brought over the deaths.