The man suspected of carrying out a firebomb attack on an immigration centre in Dover lived nearly 120 miles away.

Incendiary devices were thrown at the Border Force migrant centre in the Kent port town on Sunday .

Kent Police said the suspect, who was later found dead at a nearby petrol station, was 66 years old and from the High Wycombe area in Buckinghamshire.

The force, along with Thames Valley Police, is searching a property in High Wycombe in connection with the incident.

High Wycombe is about 118 miles from Dover.

The man’s name has not been released. However, Sir Roger Gale, MP for the nearby North Thanet constituency, told the House of Commons on Monday evening the suspect had been suffering from “very severe mental health difficulties”.

Officers were called at 11.22am to The Viaduct road by the Western Jet Foil site, where two to three incendiary devices had caused a fire.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit attended and made sure there were no further threats. Another device was found and confirmed safe within the suspect’s vehicle, police said.

Two people inside the migrant centre reported minor injuries and the site remained open, although 700 people were moved to Manston asylum processing centre in Kent for safety reasons.

A Reuters photographer said a man threw petrol bombs with fireworks attached before killing himself.

The attacker was described as a white man wearing a striped top, who drove up to the centre in a white Seat four-wheel drive vehicle, the agency reported.

By the afternoon the scene had been cordoned off and forensic teams were working in the area.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the “shocking” incident was not being treated as a terror attack, telling MPs in the Commons: “My thoughts are with all of those who are affected. I have received regular updates from the police.

“While I understand the desire for answers, investigators must have the necessary space to work.”