The University has confirmed that money was reportedly stolen from a till in Wentworth’s The Edge Bar, while the building was being evacuated due to an arson attempt.
Students were forced to leave their classes yesterday after a fire was purposefully lit on the third floor of the Wentworth Nucleus. Anxious staff and students were made to wait for around forty minutes while the fire was investigated, before being allowed back into the building.
Student publication, The Yorker, also reported that there had been an unconfirmed till robbery, citing an overheard conversation between campus security officials.
A University spokesperson told York Vision: “We can confirm Wentworth College was evacuated yesterday afternoon after the fire alarms were activated”.
“The Fire Service sent five appliances to the scene after an initial investigation revealed that a small fire had been started close to a toilet facility, but fortunately had failed to take hold.”
They added confirmation that “a theft from a till was reported at Wentworth College yesterday afternoon”. The theft is said to have taken place while the building was being cleared due to the fire.
It is not clear whether the individual behind the theft was the same person who lit the fire. The University also declined to mention how much money went missing during the evacuation.
Chris Teeling, the University’s Health and Fire Safety Officer told worried students yesterday “above one of the toilets upstairs above the ceiling tile, somebody has set fire to something, which would have burnt the building”.
However, nobody was hurt during the incident, uni management told Vision, saying that: “Nobody was injured and staff and students were allowed back into the building a short time later after the building was declared safe”.
The University is investigating the fire and the theft, and has asked for people with any relevant information to get in contact with the authorities.