Durham Caravans, one of the North-East of England’s biggest leisure vehicle dealerships, is hoping to get business back to normal as quickly as possible this month, after a fire at their premises which police are treating as suspicious.
The dealership sells new and used ‘vans from some of the best makes of motorhomes, including Pilote, Joa Camp, and Auto-Trail.
Durham Police and the County Durham and Darlington Fire Service have launched a joint investigation into the incident at Durham Caravans on Belmont Industrial Estate on the evening of 4 April.
The fire caused significant damage to several caravans on the forecourt and to the company’s main showroom. Craig Goodenough, one of Durham Caravans’ directors, said the police investigation was still continuing, and it would be “quite a few weeks” before the dealership was fully back up and running because, although none of the vehicles inside the showroom at the time of the fire was damaged, the building itself has been rendered unsafe.
“We’ve managed to take some vehicles outside the premises to make a small sales area, so that customers can have a look around, but we are mostly an indoor showroom,” he said.
Police have asked witnesses and anyone with information about the fire to come forward, quoting incident reference 437.
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