Joyriders are suspected of crashing a car which started a fire and destroyed 40 pallets of roofing material.

The burnt-out shell of a Ford Escort and the charred remains of hundreds of polystyrene and bitumen rolls were all that was left after fire swept through part of the Callenders Ltd building supplies yard.

The car's occupants were lucky to escape alive.

Police and fire crews rushed to the site in Harvey Road on Basildon's Burnt Mills industrial estate in the early hours of Saturday morning. They were alerted by a security guard.

Police suspect the car was stolen but have been unable to identify it because it was so badly damaged.

The blaze spread to the pallets of roofing materials and within 15 minutes a 30 metre square section of the yard was on fire.

The blaze was tackled by fire crews from Basildon, Hadleigh and Wickford. The blaze also damaged cars in the CCS salvage yard next door.

It created a column of thick black smoke.

One eye-witness, who was working nearby at the time, said he had heard a crash and then saw smoke and flames coming from the car.

The man, who did not want to be named, claimed the industrial estate was used regularly by joyriders and people dumping cars.

He said: "The fire had spread right across the yard in maybe 15 minutes. It was huge. All you could see was black smoke and flames. It was horrendous.

"We get joyriders round here a lot and people just dumping cars." Gary Jeffery of Essex Fire and Rescue Service said the fire spread quickly among the pallets.

He said: "The original call came at about 2.30am and was for a car fire but when officers arrived they realised it was much more than that."

An Essex Police spokesman said: "The car was so badly damaged in the fire that we can't even read the chassis number. Investigations are continuing though.

"It will be difficult to find out the identity of the car but it seems clear that some sort of foul play was afoot."

Witnesses can call Pitsea police on 01268 584212.

(Right) the abandoned Ford Escort that is believed to have been the cause of the fire

(Left) - firefighters sift through the charred remains of roofing materials

Pictures: LUAN MARSHALL

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