Arson investigation after blaze strikes Dodd's museum project

Ken Dodd's dream of opening the country's first comedy museum in his home town of Knotty Ash, complete with his trademark tickling stick, is in jeopardy after a fire badly damaged the historic building.

The comedian, known as the Squire of Knotty Ash because of his ties with the Merseyside suburb, had been in talks with Liverpool City Council for three months to develop a monument to British comedy in a disused Victorian mansion.

But on Wednesday evening a blaze broke out at Thingwall House that firefighters took five hours to control. The upper floor has partly collapsed and may be demolished. Alex MacDougall, a spokesman for Merseyside's fire safety team, said: "We have not yet determined if the fire had a malicious cause but suspicion was raised by the crew who felt there was no obvious or probable cause."

Dodd, who turns 76 tomorrow and has had a career as a ventriloquist, chart-topping pop star and variety show comedian, was distressed.

After a performance in Crewe, he said he felt his plans had been hijacked. "I feel as though we have lost any chance of saving the house now. Now our only hope is to try to save the trees and the land."

In June, he had made public his interest in becoming a patron of comedy. "I am hoping to establish some kind of national archive and museum of comedy in humour, because I am very mindful that the traditional sense of humour is in danger of becoming diluted," he said.

A spokesman for Liverpool City Council, which had decided in September not to demolish the building, said Dodd's plans to rejuvenate it hung in the balance. Surveyors would assess whether the mansion could be salvaged.

"Obviously, in light of the fire, we will have to re-examine those plans and we will be listening fully to all public representations before making any decision on its future," he said.