A 17-YEAR-OLD girl was arrested last night after a suspected arson attack in Brighton.

Police sealed off St James's Street after the blaze in a disused branch of the National Westminster bank.

The road was closed for more than an hour as firefighters tackled the flames.

Phil Thompson, station commander at Preston Circus fire station, said: "When we first arrived, just after 9pm, the fire looked serious.

"A member of the public reported seeing children on the roof 40 minutes before the fire started."

Traders in St James's Street told fire crews the derelict building was often used by people as a squat.

By 10.30 flames had been extinguished and the building, which is next to Safeway, was found to be empty.

The roof and second floor of the building were badly damaged and an investigation team was on the scene today sifting through the wreckage for clues to the cause.

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