POLICE are today investigating a suspected arson attack that left two picturesque thatched cottages badly damaged.Forty firefighters from two counties tackled the blaze at Gestingthorpe, between Halstead and Sudbury for nearly three hours yesterday before bringing it under control.
POLICE are today investigating a suspected arson attack that left two picturesque thatched cottages badly damaged.
Forty firefighters from two counties tackled the blaze at Gestingthorpe, between Halstead and Sudbury for nearly three hours yesterday before bringing it under control.
Essex fire service said it was treating the fire as suspicious and that a joint investigation with Essex police will begin today.
Crews were called at about 6.40pm yesterday after the thatched roof of a cottage in Church Street caught fire.
It spread quickly to the roof of the adjourning thatched cottage as forty firefighters from Halstead, Sudbury, Clare, Braintree, Long Melford, Wethersfield, Colchester and Brentwood were drafted in to tackle the blaze.
It took firefighters just under three hours to bring the fire under control, but some crews remained at the scene into the night, damping down hot spots.
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