An arson suspect was injured when the petrol tank of a burning car exploded.

The Ford Focus car blew up at about 11.30pm on Sunday near the junction of Church Road and North Street in Portslade.

Police said the car was set alight before it exploded, scattering debris across the area and blowing the windscreen 30 feet away from the car.

A 19-year-old man was taken to Worthing Hospital for treatment for burns on his face after the attack.

But at 6am yesterday he was arrested in hospital on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

When he was released from hospital he was taken to the police custody centre at Hollingbury where he remained last night being questioned over the incident.

A 21-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of the crime.

Neither had been charged yesterday.

The noise of the blast woke people up in the surrounding area as emergency services raced to the scene.

Firefighters said the blast peeled the car’s doors back, blew the back off the boot and threw glass onto the other side of the road.

Two other cars were damaged. The flames set the front of the former Great Restorations fireplace shop alight, melting guttering and damaging windows.

Witnesses told police they saw a man leaving the area shortly after the explosion.

Police and fire investigators spent yesterday morning at the scene. The area was cordoned off until 11.30am.

Officers said the fire put lives at risk but that no-one apart from the offenders was in the area at the time.

Detective Sergeant Dave Osland said: “This was a potentially serious incident. Fortunately no one was in the building at the time.”

Police spent yesterday making house-to-house inquiries in the area and trawling through CCTV footage for evidence.

They refused to release any details of what caused the fire.

Anyone with information is asked to call Brighton and Hove CID on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.