Following Tuesday morning's fire which destroyed Fleetwood's historic pier, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage, Lancashire Police announced the arrest of over 350 suspected arsonists.
At a press conference this afternoon, a representative of the Forensic Science Squad gave some details of the investigation so far. He said, "Although we found a suspicious DNA sample on a discarded MD20/20 bottle left underneath the pier, it could not be matched with the National DNA Database. We therefore carried a familial DNA test to identify people closely related to the owner of the DNA sample."
He continued, "As a result we are able to reveal that we are holding 362 suspects from the Fleetwood area, with a further 215 Fleetwood residents under investigation".
Police are also anxious to trace a man in his forties seen loitering under the pier in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to some witnesses the man was sucking a Fisherman's Friend at the time. In a separate development, police apprehended a dock worker attempting to flee the town on the Knott End ferry.
