FIREFIGHTERS were called to a fire deliberately lit inside a former hotel and nightclub in Alderley Edge on Saturday.

Two engines, one from Wilmslow and one from Greater Manchester, attended the blaze at the former Yesterdays Night Club in Harden Park, known locally as 'The Edge', shortly after 4pm on Saturday.

The fire was out when the engines arrived but crews remained on site to ensure it didn't reignite.

A fire spokeswoman said: "Firefighters damped down a small fire started deliberately inside the building in Alderley Edge."

The former nightclub, which had been an hotel, has had something of a blighted history since it shut in 2004, when it was variously put up both for sale and/or for redevelopment

Over the years the building has suffered from both vandalism and theft, while the four acre ground that surrounds it, have become overgrown and neglected.

Four years ago, an application submitted by a property developer Benmore Group to build a luxury spa hotel which was withdrawn after it was recommended for refusal by East Cheshire Council planners.

Anyone with any information about the fire is urged to call police on 101 or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.