More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Fire crews at Kent and Canterbury Hospital after a blaze in the chapel office
A man is due in court today after a spate of fires and thefts - including arson attacks on two Kent hospitals within 24 hours.
Thomas Ashcroft, 34, of no fixed address, was charged on Saturday in connection with six offences at Medway Maritime Hospital, the Kent and Canterbury Hospital and the Hilton Hotel in Sheffield.
He will remain in custody until he appears at Canterbury magistrates court later to face the charges of three counts of arson with intent and three counts of burglary.
It comes after detectives released a CCTV image of a man they wanted to speak to after blazes at Kent and Canterbury Hospital and Medway Maritime Hospital last week.
Detectives believe the fires were used as a distraction to steal money.
Det Sup Mick Judge, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, who is leading the investigation, said: "The fires have all been determined as deliberate but small and contained, and no one has been harmed."
"It would appear that the suspect is lighting fires in order to steal - that appears to be the common method throughout here.
"It would appear the method is to set small fires before a theft takes place. It is very unusual. It's an unusual method to set a fire and steal in this way."
An evacuation was carried out at Kent and Canterbury Hospital after a fire
Hundreds of people were evacuated from Kent and Canterbury Hospital at about 2pm on Thursday when a fire started in the chapel office on the second floor.
Firefighters tackled the flames for 30 minutes before checking for hotspots with thermal imaging cameras.
Those evacuated from the Ethelbert Road, Canterbury, site were allowed back into the hospital at about 3pm.
Kent Police officers were called to probe the cause of the blaze with Kent Fire and Rescue Service.
They are also investigating the report of cash being stolen from the restaurant while the fire was being dealt with.
Fire broke out at Medway Maritime Hospital on Wednesday afternoon
Less than 24 hours earlier, Medway Maritime Hospital was evacuated amid a blaze.
Five crews went to the site, in Windmill Road, Gillingham, after a fire broke out in B wing at around 3.50pm on Wednesday.
Around 25 firefighters tackled the blaze and were stood down at 4.30pm.
Nothing is understood to have been stolen from Medway Maritime Hospital during the evacuation.
No one was injured in either of the Kent hospital fires.
