ARSONISTS caused major damage to All Saints Church Hall in Bedford, on Bonfire Night by setting off a firework against the building's dry timber wall.

A passer-by alerted the fire service to the blaze on Kenwood Avenue, just off Manchester Road at 11.45pm.

The powerful firework quickly burnt through the outer and inner walls, destroying a window, plastic guttering and part of the floor and roof inside the church hall causing thousands of pounds of damage.

Firefighters using breathing gear forced their way into the building through a window to fight the fire from the inside, while two jets tackled the blaze from the outside.

Station officer Jim Sims said: "This one was definitely done deliberately. It could have been a lot worse."

Church curate Fr Anthony Bedell said the damage would cause disruption to some activities and added : "We are extremely grateful to the person who contacted the fire brigade.

"This was an act of vandalism. Schools suffer it, churches suffer it and we are yet another victim of vandalism. These things happen but we are sorry it happened to us."

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