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Property developer's £1.5 million Sandbanks mansion destroyed by fire
A property developer woke up today to find out his £1.5 million mansion had burned down while he was on holiday with his family.
Mark Griffiths, his wife Caroline and daughters Chloe, 19, and Charlotte, 13, went by cruise ship from Southampton to New York and were due to set sail back to the UK this morning.
They were asleep in their hotel when they got the call from Mrs Griffiths' brother Eddie Argyle at 4am local time.
He told them their £1.5 million mansion in the exclusive suburb of Branksome, in Poole, Dorset, had burned down.
Mr Griffiths built the house himself around 18 years ago in the upmarket area near Sandbanks, where residents include Portsmouth football manager Harry Redknapp.
"I had to break the news at about 9am this morning, 4am their time, that their house had gone," said Mr Argyle.
"They were in total shock. I didn't know how to put it, I just put it as matter-of-factly as possible.
"I said I'm really sorry, your house has burnt down. It is unsalvageable.
"We are trying to convince them to take the cruise back. There's nothing they can do here. They have a five-day cruise coming back."
Luckily their pet dog was in a kennel and their cat was outside. No one else was inside the property.
Mr Argyle was amongst friends and family trying to salvage items from the four-bedroom house, which sits on three-quarters of an acre of prime real estate.
"We were just so happy to salvage some photos."
The family were understood to have left Southampton aboard the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship on August 1 for the six-night crossing, which was due to set sail back to the UK today.
The fire broke out at around midnight last night and fire crews worked through the night to try to bring it under control.
Building inspectors were called in this morning to assess the unsafe house.
Mr Argyle said: "They think it started off as an electrical problem in the downstairs office.
"We don't know if that means a computer was on or if some wiring went wrong. It doesn't look like arson."
He added: "The house is completely gutted and Mark is completely gutted. It is going to have to be rebuilt completely."
COMMENTS
Viridian Homes http://www.viridianhomes.co.uk
Commented 13 weeks ago
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anglesey.homes@btinternet.com
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