A lucky housing tenant escaped injury after an arson attack on his Abingdon home.

Police are treating the blaze at the Saxton Road home of Gary Preston as suspicious after firefighters found a petrol can outside the front door.

The blaze is believed to have started at the house, owned by The Vale Housing Association, after a flammable object was pushed through the letter box.

Alison Jennings of the VHA said: "One of our staff will meet Mr Preston today and we are assessing the fire damage. "Our priority at the moment is to make sure the house is secure."

Mr Preston, who has been forced to leave the property, told a housing association officer he could think of no reason why anyone would fire bomb his home.

Ms Jennings said: "We have no record of the tenant being threatened or any such incident, and he does not know of any reason why anyone would want to fire bomb him," added Ms Jennings.

Two fire engines attended the scene, and firefighters searched the house using breathing equipment, but Mr Preston was not home when the blaxe struck at about 12.30pm on Sunday. The ground floor was damaged after a plastic double glazed door set alight. The rest of the house suffered bad smoke damage.

Firefighter Peter Graham said: "It appears to have been caused by something being pushed through the letter box.

"Arson attacks are not common in Abingdon."

Story date: Monday 19 April

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