Aardman Animations rounded off a rollercoaster we𒀰ekend in tragic fashion as Nick Park and his clay-moulding merry men had to stand by and watch their warehouse burn to the ground. The master clayman commented that although it was “dreadful” for the company itself, no one was hurt, so it was “not a big deal.”

But what about Wallace and Gromit, Nick!? Fortunately, the stars🅷 of The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit were with him at the time, travelling with him on the film’s global tubthumping tour. At least the fact that Were-Rabbit opened over the weekend at the number one spot in the US box office is salve to the wounds.

“It couldn’t have come on a worse day,” said Aardman spokesman Arthur Sheriff. “Everything has gone, from as far back ☂as Morph and all the way through to Chicken Run. Everyone’s devastated.”

Scant consolation was provided by company co-founder Chris Sproxton, who confirmed that tඣhe film archive was kept elsewhere.

With all three floors ravaged by flames, police are now investigating the possibility that the blaze was started deliberately. “Our arson task force has been alerted and we are keeping a close eye on things,” says a police spokeswom✨an. 🐽“It may turn out to be suspicious.”