The owner of a Basildon takeaway is picking up the pieces after fire ripped through his shop, causing £3,500 damage.

Police are awaiting the findings of a fire report which will establish whether or not to treat it as arson.

But Foyzur Rahman, who took over as proprietor of the Tipu Tandoori in Timberlog Lane at the start of the year, believes it was started deliberately by somebody with a grudge against him - though he dismissed suggestions that it was a racially-motivated incident.

Mr Rahman said he only discovered the damage the next day when he came to open up for the night at 4.30pm yesterday (Thursday), as police had been unable to track him down following the blaze, which took place in the early hours of the morning.

He said: "I pulled up the shutters and I was just stunned - I didn't know if it was real or a dream.

"In one way I'm very lucky, because my insurance will cover fixtures and fittings - but no insurance will cover my loss of earnings. I'm losing money every day I'm not open."

He estimated it would take between four and eight weeks to get the shop up and running again.

Grudge fire? Mr Rahman in the fire-ravaged takeaway store

Picture: ELISE GOW

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