A BAKERY business has been devastated by a fire believed to have been caused by arsonists setting fire to rubbish bins.

The Waltons Bakery, Headcorn, lost thousands of pounds of stock and has been forced to close temporarily while the owners clean up smoke damage and replace lost equipment.

The fire which began in two waste bins at the back of the High Street premises was one of several started in Headcorn early Monday morning.

Two other rubbish bins were also set alight in the High Street and a fire was started in a stack of building materials at a construction site not far away on the corner of Grigg Lane and Oak Lane.

Police believe the incidents, between 1.30 and 3am, may have been linked and have introduced extra patrols in the area.

Steve Moore, co-owner of Waltons, said the blaze had had a devastating effect on the bakery.

He said: "It spread from the bins to burn down our store area at the rear of the shop. But the smoke has gone through the whole building and we have had to throw all our stock away."

The single-storey rear store was used by the company to make confectionery and to store flour and cooking fats. The blaze destroyed four freezers and two large refrigerators.

The bakery was due to re-open after the Christmas holiday on Wednesday, but its doors remained shut as Seeboard engineers checked wiring and staff cleaned up the worst of the smoke damage.

Mr Moore said: "We bake our bread at our other premises in Frittenden, so hopefully we will be able to re-open at the start of next week selling bread and rolls, but we won't be able to make our own confectionery again for some time. We shall have to buy in from elsewhere."

Mr Moore who has run the business with Tina Sparrow for 10 years, said the building would need to be re-decorated throughout. He estimated the damage and loss of stock to be around £20,000, but he said: "That's not taking into account lost business. It's devastating."