BREAKING NEWS: Friars Walk fire 'arson' - police

Firefighters were called to a blaze in a vehicle recovery workshop in Friars Walk, Tarring, at around 1.45am on Thursday, December 3.

A truck, tyres, diesel and welding equipment were all found to be on fire, and the workshop was found to contain highly volatile acetylene gas cylinders, which are used in welding.

Fire crews immediately withdrew from the scene and tackled the blaze from distance using ground-based hoses and the aerial ladder platform, which sprayed water on to the cylinders from above.

The potential for explosion led to a 200 metre cordon being set up around the area and around 250 homes were evacuated.

See video interviews with firefighters and police at the cordon by clicking here.

Families and residents were moved to a temporary rest centre at Durrington Leisure Centre and the nearby railway line was also closed, with train operators offering a bus service to stations between Worthing and Littlehampton.

After investigators scoured the scene for clues over the weekend, detectives have confirmed the incident is now being treated as arson.

Anyone with any information should call Worthing CID on 0845 60 70 999, quoting Operation Gatehouse, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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