POLICE say a stolen axe and hammer may be vital clues in the hunt for arsonists who gutted a Kendal Tory party HQ.

The tools were found in an alleyway near the Georgian building in Highgate.

The discovery came as officers revealed they were treating the fire as a suspected arson attack, but ruled out an political motivation as a line of inquiry.

The inferno destroyed records and equipment and was described by local Conservative parliamentary candidate Gareth McKeever as a ‘significant blow’ to his General Election campaign.

Fire tore through the three-storey terraced building in the early hours of Friday, causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

It took around two hour for firefighters to get the flames under control.

The alarm was raised at around 4.15am by a man in a neighbouring flat, who was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

Westmorland and Lonsdale Conservative Party records, three years of election work, computers and other electrical equipment were lost in the blaze.

Green Door Art studios, also based in the building, was wrecked, destroying hundreds of paintings and pieces of art worth thousands of pounds.

A chimney stack and parts of the roof were removed by a large crane over the weekend to allow structural engineers access.

Police said the engineers found the building in a 'state of collapse'. Forensic teams have not yet been able to get inside and assess the scene. Once the building is safe, police plan to use sniffer dogs from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to find any accelerants.

Detective Chief Inspector Bob Qazi, who is leading the investigation, said the axe and hammer had been stolen from a lock-up garage in Kendal town centre between Wednesday, February 17, and the day of the fire.

He said: "We believe the tools may be connected to the arson attack so need to establish who had them in the area and why.

”The fact that these tools were discarded in an alleyway is suspicious so we need to get to the bottom of it.”

“Despite not being allowed into the premises at this time, our police investigation is ongoing and as we continue to conduct our own rigorous enquiries, we need the support of the community.”

Officers are trawling through CCTV around the town to trace witnesses and eliminate people from enquiries and urge people who were in the area at the time of the fire to get in touch.

Conservative candidate Mr McKeever said: "It is a significant blow. Our office was the nucleus of our General Election campaign and all our records and equipment have been destroyed.

"There is some backup but it is very limited. We’ve lost a lot of stuff that we can’t replace."

But Mr McKeever vowed he would not let the blaze stand in his way.

“Our campaign is much more than bricks and mortar,” he said. “It is about people and we have a fantastic team that has responded in an incredible way.”

He said he hoped the team would have a new office in or around the Kendal area by the end of the week.

Neighbouring firms were badly affected by the fire, which is thought to be the largest blaze to hit Kendal since the blaze at the former Booths supermarket on Highgate in 2005.

Painting and decorating suppliers Woodbridge and Mounsey, which is next door to the Conservative offices, remains closed.

Owner Dale Woodbridge said fire fighters managed to control the fire just before it spread to the store’s roof space. He thanked the ‘sterling efforts’ of the emergency services.

Neighbouring properties and flats had to be evacuated.

Kendal Group Manager Steve Healey said the blaze was well developed and spreading to the roof when crews arrived. They battled the flames from a staircase enclosure and used a main jet outside.

Highgate was closed to drivers until Monday.