No one found in Church Street fire wreckage as missing man is located

Church Street fenced off during Saturday evening following demolition work Pic: Carl Stein

Searches of the fire ravaged building in Church Street have concluded with no one found.

Demolition work and searches of the building have been taking place intensively since Thursday, when emergency services received information saying the building – which caught fire on Tuesday – had been used by rough sleepers.

Preston Police confirmed to Blog Preston no one had been found within the building which goes from fronting Church Street back into Shepherd Street.

An appeal to trace a missing man, Marcin Kozierowski, 37, has also now been withdrawn as police say he has been found safe and well at another location in Preston.

Police say they have now handed operations at the Church Street site over to Preston City Council.

A police spokesperson said: “We would like to thank everyone for their patience, understanding and co-operation while we carried out the work we needed to at the site.”

The closures are Manchester Road and Church Street, Church Row and Church Street and Guild Row and Church Street, with diversions in place.

The alternative route for traffic affected by the closure is via:- Church Street – Fishergate – Glovers Court – Syke Street – Avenham Lane – Manchester Road and Church Street.

Earlier on Saturday demolition work saw the building being taken down and the work is set to continue during Sunday after the structure was classed as unsafe.

A joint investigation between police and fire services into the cause of the fire is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting log 1197 of November 12.

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