A NEWLY-built shelter to protect teenagers gathering in a park from the wind and rain has been destroyed by arsonists.

The £5,000 hut in Wainscott Recreation Ground, Strood, was turned into a pile of burning wreckage in just a few minutes on Saturday afternoon.

Firefighters from Strood tackled the fire that began at around 2pm. A fire and rescue officer said: "Because the hut was built from fibre-glass, it produced thick, black smoke. The fire is being treated as suspicious."

The shelter was built by Medway Council as a dry place for teenagers to congregate.

Ward Cllr Tom Mason said: "This hut was erected as a place for teenagers to gather, protected from the wind and rain, and now they have destroyed it.

"It is only however, a minority of youths who have done this and who misbehave."