A RYEDALE town has been shocked by its second big blaze in three days.

A carpet shop in Helmsley was severely damaged by fire last night. It is next door to The Old Meeting House arts centre which was ravaged by fire on Tuesday evening.

Glennis Wilshire, of Harome, owner of the Spoilt For Choice carpet shop, told today how she thought it was a joke when she was first told about the blaze. "I just thought somebody was playing silly things."

She was shocked and horrified when she went to inspect the premises and discovered the extent of the damage. "I just couldn't believe it," she said.

She added that the majority of the carpet stock had been burnt and the rest was badly damaged by smoke, and she had concerns about the structural state of the single-storey building, which she had opened as an Oriental carpet shop with her husband in 1987.

Mrs Wilshire said: "I don't know what I am going to do now."

She said her daughter Penny, who had helped run the shop with her since the death of her husband four years ago, was away on holiday and still unaware of the fire. "She will be devastated."

Police Superintendent David Short said at the scene of the blaze last night that it was the second major fire within three days within the same locality, and it was being treated as suspicious.

He said he had asked for scenes of crime officers to come in and examine any forensic evidence.

"Police will do all they can to establish if the fire was caused deliberately and, if so, will do our utmost to find those responsible."

A fire spokesman said today it was believed that the carpet shop fire was caused by a faulty electrical light fitting. It is understood an eyewitness reported seeing the light exploding.

But Detective Constable Steve Coates said today that police were still actively progressing with their inquiries, and they were keeping an open mind as to the cause at this stage. "All possible avenues will be investigated."

The blaze on Tuesday night at The Old Meeting House started in a shed used to store waste from the carpet shop.

Mrs Wilshire's son Kingsley was fined on Monday for possessing heroin in a case which began with police investigations into the drug-related death of his friend Mark Wallace. York Crown Court was told that Wilshire and another heroin user, Ian Metcalfe, learned a tragic lesson when 17-year-old Mr Wallace was found dead at his home on Christmas Day. Mrs Wilshire said today she did not believe either fire was connected in any way to the case.

Kingsley Wilshire said at the scene of the fire last night: "I am in shock. I don't know where to put myself. This was my father's life."