Residents were evacuated after a nearby flat was engulfed in flames.

Police are treating the blaze as suspicious and have not ruled out arson.

The occupant, who has not been named, was away at the time and no-one was hurt.

Police and fire officers began an investigation after the maisonette in a four-storey block in Butterwort Place, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, was burned out early on Sunday morning. One theory is that something flammable was pushed through the letterbox. A neighbour, who saw the flames coming from the flat, said there was a strong smell of petrol fumes.

Two neighbouring flats were affected by smoke but fire fighters managed to stop the fire spreading to the rest of the block.

Story date: Tuesday 28 December

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