Burrell distraught over arson attack on shop

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A flower shop owned by former royal butler Paul Burrell was badly damaged early yesterday after it was set alight by suspected arsonists.

Mr Burrell and his family were under "extreme stress" because of the attack – which comes just weeks after he was cleared of stealing from the Royal Family when an Old Bailey trial collapsed.

After the end of his trial and the sale of his story to a newspaper, he has faced hostile publicity in both Britain and the United States, where he conducted a round of interviews.

The alarm at Mr Burrell's shop was raised shortly before 1am when police and fire crews were called to the premises in Holt, north Wales.

Mr Burrell, who lives across the border in the Cheshire town of Farndon, is believed to have visited the shop in the early hours to survey the damage. It has been badly affected by smoke. Chief Inspector Bob Wilson of North Wales Police said yesterday: "We are treating this as an investigation of arson."

The shop had just been decorated for Christmas but, yesterday, black bin bags covered the front window and a pane of glass on the side of the building had been boarded up.

Keith Bouchier, who runs the Farndon Arms opposite Mr Burrell's home, said he had been in high spirits when he went to the pub for a drink, a few hours before the fire. "Things were just getting back to normal for Paul and then this happens," he said. "It will be water off a duck's back to Paul after what he's been through but it will have upset him and it will upset his wife, Maria, even more."

Mike Faux, who is Mr Burrell's personal assistant, answered the door at his Cheshire home, and said: "Paul and his family are under enormous stress due to what has happened and they are leaving it in the capable hands of the police."