Two men walked into a Kent seafront amusement arcade before spraying gaming machines with petrol and setting them alight, causing more than £500,000 damage.

Detectives say the pair escaped through a rear door at Tivoli amusement centre at around 5pm on Friday.

The petrol was contained in a yellow carrier bag and a rucksack carried by the men. It is thought they drove off in a dark-blue old style Volvo that was parked off the seafront in Belgrave Road. It was found abandoned and burnt out in Grosvenor Place in the town minutes later.

Both suspects are white males in their 30s; one is 6ft 1in tall, the other 5ft 11in tall. They were both wearing cream coloured tops and baseball caps, and one wore sunglasses.

Police are working with CCTV footage from inside and outside the building as part of the investigation.

A police spokesman said there were 10 people inside the arcade at the time, and that the fire was lit in front of an office at the rear of the premises.

She added: "It was extremely lucky there were no fatalities."

About 60 fire fighters from around east Kent, using eight engines and a height vehicle, tackled the blaze on Margate's so-called 'golden mile'.

Crews wore breathing apparatus to check the four-storey building after initial reports that people may have been inside but the fire and rescue service soon confirmed that no-one was trapped or hurt in the incident. The blaze was extinguished by 6.45pm.

The seafront area was cordoned off and traffic diverted away from the area causing long delays and tailbacks at major junctions around the town.

Water damage was also caused to the neighbouring DV8 nightclub during the operation.