FIRE razed to the ground a wooden building at Barton's Point Coastal Park, Sheerness, at the weekend. The building was used as a meeting house by Sheppey Miniature Engineering and Model Society.

It stood beside the track of the miniature railway and was used to store the railway's operating gear, including the railway engine.

Firefighters using two pumps from Sheerness and a jet using water from the nearby lake were unable to save the small building.

A spokesman at Sheerness fire station said: "We don't know what caused it, although we can rule out some possible causes. It was not an electrical fault, for example, as there was no electrical supply to the building. But there were gas cylinders there. It's a sad loss to the society."

Society member Ralf Turner said: "It was a complete wipe-out." He added that society treasurer Arthur Robinson was currently assessing the cost of damage.