Fire chiefs were today investigating a suspicious blaze at the Burger King restaurant in Southend last night.

Two fire crews from Southend rushed to the back of the fast-food outlet on Queens Road off High Street at about 8.30pm to battle the blaze, which is thought to have started by the escape stairwell at the back of the building.

Firefighters initially believed the deep fat fryer extract system had caught alight but on closer inspection, it appears to have been started deliberately.

Staff and customers were evacuated as soon as fire alarms went off and crews spent an hour at the scene.

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