£15k of damage as blaze hits Bloxwich site

A carpet warehouse in the Black Country went up in flames today in a suspected arson attack that has caused more than £15,000 of damage and may have killed four kittens.

The warehouse belonging to Parkside Carpets, in Bloxwich, was set alight after vandals smashed their way through a wall to get in.

Dozens of rolls of carpets and a forklift truck were destroyed in the blaze at 4am. It took firefighters more than one-and-a-half hours to bring the flames under control.

Four kittens that had been staying in the warehouse, based in a courtyard behind the Park Road shop, are thought to have died in the blaze.

Owner Malcolm Lownes, who set up the business in Park Road 43 years ago and now runs it with his son Nicholas, said today: "It's unbelievable. Someone has broken a wall to be able to set fire to the carpets."

The 75-year-old said he was still opening his shop today but a hair salon above the shop was forced to close.