GREENHOUSES were set alight and garages burgled in two separate incidents in the same Colchester road.

Someone set fire to two plastic greenhouses in the garden of a home in Rosebery Avenue, off East Hill, causing the front of the greenhouses to melt.

The fire-starter then broke into an unlocked shed and the garage and searched them both.

It does not look as though anything was stolen, and police are treating the incident as arson.

On the same evening, burglars broke into the shed and garage of the next-door neighbour's house. Both areas were ransacked and a number of items were stolen, including a television and two Freeview set-top boxes.

LINKS The incidents are believed to have taken place overnight between about 7pm on Monday and 8.15am on Tuesday.

Colchester town neighbourhood policing team Inspector Paul Butcher said officers were investigating possible links between the two incidents.

He added: "These two crimes happened on the same night, in the same road.

"The perpetrators would have been in the area for some time, as a thorough search was made of both garages and sheds.

"We would appeal for anyone who might have seen anything suspicious, or who has any information about either of these crimes, to contact us."

Anyone with information should contact Colchester police on 0300 333 4444, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.