Man arrested on suspicion of arson after fire at St Peter's Court in Lowestoft's Chapel Road

A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a late night blaze which saw families forced to flee their homes.

Seven fire crews, police and paramedics were called to St Peter's Court, in Chapel Road, at around 9.45pm yesterday following reports of a bike storage shed having gone up in flames.

The fire was extinguished just after 1am, at which point residents were allowed to return to their homes.

The suspect was arrested in the early hours of this morning and has been taken to Great Yarmouth Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

The fire spread to the ground floor of the building and also caused damage to the communal landing areas.

Speaking to Suffolk News earlier today, resident Artur Rzeszutek said the corridors were full of smoke, making it difficult to see or breathe.

"Getting down was not easy and at the time we all thought half of the building was on fire as we could not see much," he said.

The 26 year old has since been hailed a hero after he carried his own children downstairs and then ran back into the burning building to help save his neighbours.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting reference 37/43630/21.

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