by Lynn Cox

Firefighters were given the runaround by an arsonist thought to be responsible for setting alight six fires.

A crew from Strood fire station was called to various locations in the town in the early hours of Sunday morning after someone set alight piles of rubbish.

A fence in an alleyway behind Darnley Road was also torched.

There were three similar fires in the early hours of April 14. One family had to leave their home after a fire spread to a nearby gas meter.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: "This weekend we got the first call out at about 2am on Sunday, and then we had five more incidents.

"The last one was at about 4.30am.

"People don’t realise that when they are setting fires in the early hours of the morning, most are not discovered straight away as not many people are about.

"All the fires have the potential to be very dangerous. The alleyway fire was a good example of this, as while we were putting it out, two aerosol cans exploded.

"These sorts of explosions are very dangerous and could potentially kill or seriously injure someone."