Man Charged Over Westcliff Fires

Police handcuffs

A man from Westclif has been charged with starting fires which led to two blocks of flats being evacuated.

Firefighters were called to two incidents at different addresses on London Road late on Sunday and early on Monday.

Today Essex Police confirmed that Sam Brown, 26, of no fixed address, had been charged with arson with intent to endanger life.

He was initially arrested at 5am yesterday and has been remanded in custody to appear before Southend Magistrates' Court this morning.

In both incidents, blazes had been started close to gas supplies, forcing residents to leave their homes.

A spokesman for the fire service said the incidents were "potentially deadly''.