Oritse Williams pictured after ‘arson’ blaze guts £3m house just days after JLS star was cleared of rape
ORITSE Williams is pictured today just hours after his £3million mansion was gutted in a suspected arson attack.
The 32-year-old JLS star suffered a devastating blow as his house went up in flames – just days after he was cleared of raping a fan in 2016.
Cops are treating the blaze as “suspicious” after vandals smashed windows and ransacked his south London home following his acquittal last week.
The star looked downtrodden today as he took a phone call on the roof terrace of his Croydon flat – just four miles from his other home ravaged by fire.
When approached by The Sun Online, the star – thought to be worth £6m – did not wish to comment.
The blaze will only add to his turmoil, with him having previously described the rape claim ordeal as “three years of hell”.
FLAMING HELL
Around 70 firefighters tackled the inferno that swept through the singer’s home yesterday afternoon, destroying most of the roof and the second floor.
Although the cause remains unclear, emergency services confirmed no one was hurt in the fire.
No arrests have yet been made in connection with the incident.
London Fire Brigade has said that 80 per cent of the second floor was damaged in the blaze.
Crews from Addington, Croydon, Biggin Hill, Purley and surrounding fire stations were called to the scene at 4.27pm.
The incident came just days after Oritse was cleared of raping a 20-year-old on December 2, 2016.
He was arrested after the woman claimed he raped her at the Ramada Park Hotel in Wolverhampton after one of his solo gigs.
But a jury of eight women and four men took two hours and 17 minutes to find Williams and tour manager Jamien Nagadhana not guilty of all charges following a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
However, just as the singer’s rape claim hell ended his house was completely destroyed by the blaze.
Drone pictures of the colossal wreck this morning showed the extent of the damage caused by the flames.
The six-bedroom home was once the home of comedy legend Ronnie Corbett who lived there for 30 years and adored the building.
Oritse, who bought it with his then girlfriend AJ Azari in 2013, is not currently living in the property, which fell into disrepair in the wake of the allegations.
The garden swimming pool is half-full of green, stagnant water and surrounded by discarded furniture.
And pictures from before the fire show smashed windows and broken fence panels scatter the multi-million pound property.
COMPLETELY DESTROYED
Neighbour and ex-member of girl band Fe-Nix Tanya Gordon, 32, who had known Williams for several years, said of the fire: “I was walking past and there was so much smoke I was choking.
“I was nearly dying. The smoke was getting into my lungs.
“It is definitely suspicious. It has been empty for about a year.
“How does it get into that big blazing fire?
“It was really strong. It was blazing out of control.”
The mum-of-two, who released the song Lady Baby in 2009 and toured with the Pussycat Dolls and N-Dubz, added: “I was going to walk past with my kids and the fire brigade said ‘you have to walk through the forest because it is so dangerous’.
“I used to work with him. We have performed together.
“I saw him about a year ago. He was coming out of the house with his hood on.
“He used to walk to the shops sometimes or he was jogging.”
One local man said Williams’ house had been vandalised shortly after he was acquitted of rape last week.
He said: “Thursday or Friday, a couple more windows had been smashed, a roller blind had been thrown out the window, a few roof tiles had been chucked on the floor on the drive.
“It was the day after Oritse got cleared. It was fresh damage.
“There had been a couple of smashed windows because its been empty a year.
“But when I went up there Thursday or Friday there were about another six or seven smashed windows.”
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This morning, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police were called at 16:39hrs on Tuesday, 4 June following reports of a fire at a residential address in Spout Hill, Croydon.
“Officers attended with London Fire Brigade.
“There were no reported injuries. There have been no arrests.
“At this stage, the incident is being treated as suspicious. The cause of the fire is under investigation.”
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