Aerial shots capture aftermath of Newark old piano school fire which has been confirmed as arson attack

The aftermath of the old piano school fire in Newark has been captured from above.

You can see the blaze, which has been confirmed as an arson attack, ripped through a fair amount of the roof of the old school.

Police cars are continuing to watch over the area after the fire was extinguished late last night.

John Edlin has supplied the Advertiser with the aerial pictures, which he shot this morning.

Neighbouring properties were evacuated on Wednesday night after multiple fire from Newark, Collingham and Southwell crews rushed to the blaze off Mount Lane.

Police and ambulance also attended, but there were no casualties.

Some of those evacuated reported seeing a group of girls breaking into the building, which was, and may still be, owned by Lincoln College Group as part of Newark College.

From the scene of the fire, Newark white watch manager Carey Thomas said the blaze was obviously deliberate and that whoever started it wasn't to know there no one was inside.

"It was a derelict building well alight when we attended," he said last night.

"We fought the fire from both sides. We had to evacuate neighbouring properties.

"We've been unable to make major entry into the building because of the state of the floors, which may have been a result of the fire or could have been an existing issue because the building is derelict — possibly both.

"We're absolutely sure that there was no one inside.

"It's obviously deliberate. There's nothing in there to ignite otherwise.

"It could have been different. Derelict buildings provide shelter for homeless people. Whoever started it wasn't to know it was empty.

"They put lives at risk not just anyone who may have been inside, but also homeless and our firefighters.

"We had four crews tonight. The fire is out and we're now hotspotting to make sure there is no reignition."