IT COULD have been so much worse.

Social media was alive with rumour late on Saturday night that Tredegar House, the 17th century mansion that is one of Newport's major tourist attractions, was on fire.

It turned out it was the craft workshops in the grounds of the mansion that were ablaze.

Everyone associated with Tredegar House, including those who run the workshops, was on a high on Friday when Prince Charles visited.

That high became a huge low on Saturday as word of the fire spread.

For the owners of the small businesses now gutted by fire, Saturday night's events were a disaster and we have huge sympathy for them.

But if the rumours had turned out to be true and Tredegar House had burned down it would have been a disaster for the city as a whole.

Tredegar House attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, more than ever in recent years as it has come under the stewardship of the National Trust.

It is a jewel in Newport's crown and losing it is almost unthinkable.

The investigation into the cause of Saturday's fire is ongoing.

We hope the blaze was a genuine accident and not caused by some witless arsonist with no conscience or understanding of the effect such an incident can have on its victims.