AN investigation has been launched into a suspected arson attack on a church.
Half of the roof at the South Bank Mission, at Normanby Road, South Bank, in Middlesbrough, was destroyed in the blaze on Saturday afternoon.
Fire officers spent almost three hours tackling it, fearing it would spread to the rest of the building.
Station Officer Steve Owens said: "We are treating it as arson and it is being investigated by our Arson Investigation Team and Cleveland police.
"It was quite a serious fire and we had to do a lot of cutting away to stop it spreading any further.
"For the next couple of weeks, the congregation is going to have to relocate."
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