A 74-year-old man has described the moment he rushed back to his home to find it had been devastated by a fire.
The blaze broke out at the two-storey home in Apsley Road, in Great Yarmouth, at around 11.20pm last night.
Police believe the fire was started deliberately and a person has been arrested.
The owner, who did not wish to be named, was in Gorleston when he received a call from the taxi firm he works for alerting him of the fire.
He said: “I got dressed as quickly as possible, called a taxi and rushed round there.
“When I arrived the fire was out but there was still a lot of smoke.”
The fire was believed to have started in the upstairs front bedroom.
The owner said: “The room is completely gutted. There is a lot of smoke damage which can be washed off but that room is destroyed.
“The fire crew had to break down the fire door to my bedroom too to check I wasn’t inside.”
He added: “I haven’t had much sleep, all I’ve been doing is drinking tea.
“I’m usually pretty hard but I got back and just cried.
“I just don’t know where to start.”
Neighbour Tony Pegh, was awoken by people in the street shouting his name.
“I saw all these blue lights in the street and I thought what is going on. People were calling me to come down.
“I looked out of my bedroom window and I could see flames coming out of the top of the house next door and the curtains were on fire.
“I got dressed, got my dog and went to wait on the other side of the road.
“They cordoned it all off and there was fire crews, an ambulance and about six police cars.
“At 3.30am I was told I could go back indoors but I couldn’t go to sleep.”
Two fire crews from Great Yarmouth and two from Gorleston responded to the incident along with police.
Inspector Brian Sweeney said: “It is thought the fire was started deliberately.
“One person has been arrested and our enquiries are ongoing.
“There were no serious injuries, but one male was taken to hospital.”
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