Lantern blamed for industrial blaze

THE owner of a commercial vehicle sales business in Cornwall is calling for Chinese lanterns to be banned, after they led to the destruction of 20 vehicles on his property.

A blaze broke out at Newport Industrial Estate in Launceston just before midnight last Wednesday, with 19 cars and a caravan destroyed.

Chris Barker, who runs Launceston Commercials, looked at CCTV to establish the cause of the fire and said he was shocked to see it had begun shortly after a lit lantern landed on one of his vans.