A BEACH blaze which was started days after a coastal village was hit with several arson attacks in one night was started deliberately.

Essex firefighters were called to Beach Way, Jaywick, shortly after 7.30pm on Wednesday following reports of a fire on the seafront.

Upon arrival they found what residents believe to have been a pile of waste and wood which had been torched not far from the water.

After working on quelling the fire for roughly half an hour, the crews managed to safely extinguish the blaze by 8pm.

A spokeswoman for the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said it is being treated as arson.

“Firefighters were called to a fire on the beach near Beach Way, Jaywick at 7.33pm on Wednesday,” she said.

“Firefighters extinguished the fire by 8pm and it was recorded as deliberate.”

The latest fire in Jaywick comes after the resort was hit with several arson attacks within the space of ten hours.

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Dan Casey, Tendring councillor for the West Clacton and Jaywick Sands ward has condemned the most recent attack.

He said: “It will not be the last fire in Jaywick, but we do not want any here. Luckily this one was by the sea and thank God nobody was hurt.

“When people stupidly light fires like this they must be careful because they could endanger someone.”

Brad Thompson, 36, is the chairman of the Jaywick Sands Neighbourhood Watch group and is running in the upcoming by-election for the West Clacton Ward and Jaywick Sands ward.

He said: “This is not on at all, it is just more wasted time for our emergency services and more damage to our area.

“Someone could have been really injured.

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“This is not just damage caused to the environment, this could have been life threatening.

“Whoever did this and the other fires needs to seriously think about what they are doing.”

The other candidates running for election are: Andy Wood (Ind), Andy White (Tendring First), James Machin (Lab), Stuart Morgan (Lib) and Jane Nash (Con).