Firefighters battled a blaze in an industrial building in Tilbury that was caused after a car reversed into the building.
Two crews from Grays and one crew from Orsett were called to a fire in East Tilbury at 4.20 this morning.
Initial reports were of a car on fire, but once on the scene firefighters reported that a car had reversed through the front doors of a commercial building and was alight inside the building, which was 25 per cent alight and 100 per cent smoke logged.
Firefighters quickly reassessed the incident and worked to extinguish it by 5.29am.
The building, which mainly contained books, has suffered both smoke and fire damage and many of the books inside have been destroyed.
The cause has been recorded as deliberate and offers will work alongside the Police later today to carry out further investigations.
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