Arson arrest made after blaze almost destroyed home in The Commons, Colchester

Firefighters from Wivenhoe, Tiptree and Colchester were sent to reports of a house fire in Winston Avenue, just off The Commons, at around 3.56pm yesterday.

When they arrived crews reported there was a fire in a ground floor room, and teams worked for over an hour to put out the flames.

A spokesman for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said: “Crews were called to a semi-detached house after reports of a fire.

“On arrival firefighters reported that there was a fire in a ground floor room and worked to extinguish it by 5.55pm.”

An investigation revealed the most likely cause of the fire, which destroyed parts of the house, is that it was started deliberately.

Nobody was seriously injured but a man in his 50s was treated for inhaling too much smoke.