THE weighbridge building at the landmark British Sugar Beet site in Kidderminster has been gutted by fire after a suspected arson attack.

Firefighters were called from a mobile phone at 7.43pm, yesterday, and arrived at the former factory to find the building "well alight", according to crew manager Dave Pearsall.

He believes vandals got into the single storey felt-roofed building and lit a fire which gutted the inside of the structure.

The town's blue watch and retained crew used ladders to scale the surrounding fence which runs around the factory but were unable to get fire appliances on the site.

Hose lines were run across the Stourport Road to supply more water, causing street traffic to slow.

Fire crews brought the flames under control and were damping down by 9.45pm.

Mr Pearsall said: "It looks like vandals have set fire to it and the building is gutted. There was a lot of flame.

"It was quite obvious it had been broken into."

He added waste paper found "strewn" around the 8 metre by 4 metre square building could have been used to start the fire.

The police have been told about the incident because of the suspicious nature of the fire.