Two men have been arrested — and later de-arrested — for alleged burglary after they were discovered by Isle of Wight police officers in a derelict Sandown hotel. 

Officers on proactive patrol in the town last night (Thursday), discovered two men inside the Parkbury Hotel. 

They are alleged to have been caught with bolt croppers and wire cutters, stripping the hotel of copper fittings.

Both men were initially arrested at the scene, on the Broadway, on suspicion of burglary as part of enquiries.

They were later de-arrested, a Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesperson confirmed, and will be interviewed under caution at a later date.

Enquiries remain ongoing.

PSCO Stewart, from the South Wight's Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "As part of our commitment to local policing and relentlessly pursuing criminals, we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour in our neighbourhoods."

The Parkbury Hotel has is recent years become derelict, after its owners, the controversial Carlauren Group — which also owned the nearby Ocean Hotel— collapsed.

Last month, the Island's emergency services were called to the hotel after a fire broke out in its grounds. 

Police confirmed it was treating the fire as arson, after it started in a shed and spread to a fence before being brought under control.