Paignton demolished, arousing sympathy (8)

I believe the answer is:

poignant

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'arousing sympathy' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'paignton demolished' is the wordplay.
'demolished' is an anagram indicator.
'paignton' with letters rearranged gives 'POIGNANT'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for poignant that I've seen before include "Distressing" , "Deeply moving - no taping (anag)" , "Painfully emotional" , "Evoking sadness or regret" , "sad" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.

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