Wrexham Cathedral roof collapses as community leaders react

The roof of St Mary's Cathedral, Wrexham, has collapsed in a blaze that spread uncontrollably throughout the church last night, the Independent understands.

A statement from the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said that the fire, which was first reported at 22.51 last night, was spreading uncontrollably by the time the first firefighters arrived on the scene at 23.21. The roof collapsed about two hours later, and the fire was not completely extinguished until 6am the following morning.

A timeline of the events according to the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service. (Lily Hail/The Independent)

The Fire Service said in a statement that they were currently treating the fire as accidental, but appealed to the public for information. No-one was reported to be in the cathedral when the fire started, and there were no injuries or casualties as a result of the fire.

'It is likely that figure will be in the millions': community divided on funds for repairs

The Bishop of Wrexham, in a statement delivered outside of the cathedral this morning, expressed relief that no injuries were reported, and announced that fundraising efforts to repair the cathedral were underway.

"This morning I thank God that no lives were lost in the blaze that has destroyed so much of our beloved cathedral. St Mary's has been a part of this community for over 100 years, and was a place of refuge and prayer in the heart of Wrexham.

"We have decided to launch a fundraiser to raise the funds to repair St Mary’s. We do not know yet how much it will cost to repair the building, however it is likely that figure will be in the millions. In the meantime, we will learn to live without St Mary's, and continue in our mission to love and serve God.

"It is times such as these that we are reminded that it a church is made of people, not of stone. May the Lord bless you."

The Archbishop of Canterbury offered prayers to the Wrexham community in a Tweet earlier this morning

apparently the events team decided that the tweet needed more humour with the "SAMSUNG refrigerator" joke as opposed to the fact that the real joke was this event all along

Members of the local community have turned to Twitter to share their shock at the cathedral burning.

you've just said words mary you absolute liar

why do all these random people have blue ticks

Additionally, the Mayor of Wrexham pledged funds towards the cost of restoring the church, saying in a Facebook post that "We are looking into allocating funding for repairs to restore the cathedral to its former glory. In the meantime, the council would like to offer its assistance to the congregation of St Mary's in finding a temporary home."

But the Mayor's plans to use public funds to finance the church's repairs has drawn controversy. State support for churches has been controversial recently, with the Secretary of State for Wales, St Greejatus, threatening to sue the Welsh Government after Welsh Culture Minister NeatSaucer dismissed the possibility of state support for churches earlier this week.

couldn't even change the name, come on events get a grip

Spokespeople for the Welsh and Westminster governments were not immediately available for comment.

Lily Hail is the editor-in-chief of the Independent.