A fire which gutted an old art block at a Basildon school in the early hours of this morning could have been started deliberately.

An Essex Police spokesman said the cause of the blaze, which tore through the building at about 1am today, was being treated as suspicious by police and fire service investigators.

The flames at Barstable School in Basildon's Timberlog Lane were actually spotted by police in the Essex Air Support Unit helicopter, which had been attending another incident in the town.

Six fire tenders rushed to the blaze, as well as a command and control unit. The burning block had been empty prior to its demolition.

The fire was put out and no other buildings were damaged, but the block itself was completely burned out.

Anyone with information about the incident should call Basildon police on 01268 532212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.