SIX vehicles were destroyed in a suspected arson attack at a Banbury garage.

Five cars and a van were set alight last Wednesday night at the back of Double M Autos, in Thorpe Road.

Four of the vehicles were from Double M Autos, and one was from Banbury Autos. A car belonging to the Skids Banbury Youth Project was also written off.

Firefighters and police were called at 11.40pm. A police forensics team have been to the incident and officers are waiting for the results.

Richard Macgregor, co-owner of Double M Autos, said: “We turned up this morning and there was a bunch of cars around the side of the building that had been set on fire.

We had four, two belonged to customers and two belonged to us personally.

“They were parked close together — it looks like the first car was set alight and the others caught fire.

“It’s a bit of a nightmare really.”

Business partner Steve Munro said the vehicles had been parked in a gated compound. He said he believed an arsonist may have got in through a gap in the fence. He said: “The two customers had been informed and were not happy, but one car had been parked there since January. It was definitely deliberate.”

A police spokesman said: “We are treating it as suspicious.”