A historic building in Gloucester city centre has suffered extensive damage in a blaze.

Firefighters were called to tackle the fire at The Fleece Hotel in Westgate Street just before 3am today.

The roof and third floor of the building, which dates back to the 13th century, have been completely destroyed.

The site has been properly secured, as was the building itself, but evidence of forced access was obvious.

Further investigations will be carried out today, but the fire is being treated as suspicious.

In November, work got under way today to discover more about the history of site and uncover the secrets lying beneath it, with a view to potentially bringing it back into use.

Anthony Hodge, head of place at Gloucester City Council, said: "The Fleece Hotel is a beautiful building and has been part of the city centre for hundreds of years.

"It is such a shame that parts of it has been damaged so badly by fire.

"This won't affect the regeneration plans we have for the building, we have recently finished our extensive investigations which will, thankfully, act as a detailed record."

Picture: The Fleece after the blaze