Social work office targeted in suspected arson attack

A team of social workers in Sutton, South London were the targets of a suspected arson attack earlier this month.

The offices of the leaving care team were set ablaze in an incident the police are investigating as a potential arson attack.

The fire began late in the evening on Sunday 6 December, so there was no-one in the building, and the Sutton Guardian reported that the fire took two hours to put out.

A Sutton council spokesperson said: “The building is used by our leaving care team which provides services for young people leaving our care system. We have moved the team to another building to ensure the service continues to run as normal.”

The fire caused significant damage to the kitchen area, and there was minor smoke damage in other rooms, a police spokesperson said.

“The incident is being treated as suspected arson,” he added.

The police continue to investigate.