A Salvation Army minibus was covered in barbecue lighter fuel and set alight in the early hours of Sunday. Two fire crews went sent to Roots Hall Drive, Southend, at around 1.30am.

It took around 15 minutes to extinguish the flames with water jets.

Leading firefighter John Tidbury said: "The incident is certainly being treated as suspicious because the vehicle had lighter fuel all over it."

Published Tuesday August 31, 2004

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