A MAN arrested on suspicion of arson following incidents which destroyed and damaged 12 vehicles has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

A MAN arrested on suspicion of arson following incidents which destroyed and damaged 12 vehicles has been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

The 44-year-old from Manningtree was arrested in connection with a series of fires in the Manningtree area in the early hours of Tuesday.

He is due to return to police on Wednesday, September 17.

The arrest came after nine cars and three caravans were damaged by fire in the same night.

Emergency services received the first call at around 2am to a caravan on fire in Malthouse Road.

A few minutes later, police were called to a car fire in Oxford Road where a Peugeot 106 had been set alight.

At around 3.30am while police were making enquiries, three other fires in Manningtree were reported in the space of ten minutes. Two caravans and a hedgerow in Hilton Close were set alight, a garden fence was on fire in Alma Square and in Stour Street a Vauxhall Astra was found burnt out alongside a badly fired-damaged Mercedes A160.

The fire also caused damage to an adjoining building.

The final report of fires came shortly before 4.30am when two cars were set alight in a public car park in Kiln Lane, with a further three sustaining fire damage.

Fire crews from Manningtree, Colchester, and Dovercourt extinguished the fires.