Two teenage girls were arrested on suspicion of arson following a fire at a former pub.
The girls, both 14, were arrested on Monday evening following an incident at the Kings Arms Hotel, Wigton.
Emergency services were called to the hotel, in Market Place, just after 7pm after a fire broke out.
The premises has been empty for a number of years but police say that around £5,000 of damage was caused.
An area of Market Place was evacuated while the fire brigade extinguished the fire.
The girls, both from the Wigton area, were later released under investigation.
Inspector Richard Smillie said: "Setting fire to a property is not only incredibly dangerous but it negatively affects the whole community.
"The fire services quick actions meant that this fire was contained, but the area still had to be cleared for two hours and thousands of pounds worth of damage have been done to the building.
"We are appealing for information from anyone who may have seen or heard anything”.
The incident forced a section of High Street - between the George Moore monument to West Road - to be closed
Police would like to speak to anybody who has any information regarding this incident on 101.
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