Three fire crews and police were called to a large, smokey fire at a church in Milton Keynes.

Emergency services were called to a fire at St. Martin’s church in Fenny Stratford, in the early hours of Saturday, April 25 - just down the road from the fire that erupted at Pink Punters nightclub the following night.

Vicar of the church Father Victor Bullock, first heard of the fire at 12.30am when he received a worrying phone call. He got dressed and headed to the scene straight away, where he found three fire engines, police and a thick cloud of smoke completely covering the church.

Father Bullock said: “I was very fearful I would see the whole church up.”

Three fire crews and police were called to a large fire at a church in Milton Keynes, just down the road from the fire that erupted at Pink Punters nightclub the following night.

placeholder image — Three fire crews and police were called to a large fire at a church in Milton Keynes, just down the road from the fire that erupted at Pink Punters nightclub the following night.

Fortunately, the main body of the church remained standing, despite the thick smoke inside. Father Bullock praised the emergency services for their work in quickly containing the fire before it set the roof alight.

He added: “On the night I can’t fault the professionalism and kindness of the fire brigade and police.

“We were extremely blessed in the way they managed to get the fire under control before it made the main roof.”

Father Bullock stayed with the fire services as they put out the blaze until around 3.45am in the early hours of Saturday morning. There was damage to some roof tiling, carpets, electrics and exteriors, but the main body of the church remained in good shape.

Father Bullock said the fire services reported the cause of the blaze as ‘undetermined’. But he finds it suspicious that another fire broke out across the road at Pink Punters nightclub the following night.

A 51-year-old man from Milton Keynes was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, in connection with the nightclub fire.

Father Bullock added: “The fire was officially reported as undetermined but there was nothing inside that could in any way have caused the fire.”

Smoke was still emanating from the church the next day and no one could enter until around 3pm.

By 4pm, volunteers from the community had started arriving to help fix the damages and electrics.

After the help of nine to 10 volunteers from the local community, mass was able to run as usual the next morning. But a lot more work and fundraising will be needed to get the church back to what it once was.

The church is enforcing new safety measures, including taking down surrounding fencing where it would have been possible for any perpetrators to hide. It is also exploring new lighting and CCTV options.

When asked what is next for the church, Father Bullock said: “We will continue our task of being a presence in the community serving the community, preaching Christ and welcoming more people to our church.”