A man has died in police custody after being arrested following a fire in Burnham-On-Sea town centre on Sunday night (December 28th).
College Street and John Street were sealed off for three hours while firefighters and police were at the scene of the blaze in a block of flats, as pictured here and first reported here.
A police spokesman told Burnham-On-Sea.com on Wednesday: “At 9.25pm on Sunday December 28th, a 40-year-old man was arrested following a fire in College Street, Burnham.”
“He was taken to the custody centre at Bridgwater Express Park, where he was charged for being drunk and disorderly and hindering a member of the emergency services (fire service).”
“He was remanded in police custody to appear at Taunton Deane Magistrates Court on Tuesday 30th December.”
“At approximately 4am on Tuesday December 30th, a check was conducted on the man and he was found to be unresponsive. Paramedics attended, but the man was pronounced dead at approximately 4.10am.”
The incident has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who have now begun an independent investigation.
Two men were rescued by fire crews and were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene of Sunday’s fire.
Fire crews tackled the fire from the back of the property in College Street
