A homeless man has lost all of his belongings after his van was torched in a suspected arson attack.
The white Ford Transit went up in flames in Whitstable, Kent, at around 7pm last night.
Shocking footage shows the van, which belonged to rough sleeper Pete, on fire near a number of other vehicles.
Members of the public can also be seen watching the drama unfold before firefighters attended the scene.
WHITSTABLE: A homeless man is said to have lost all of his possessions after an arsonist is believed to have set his parked van on fire in Collingwood Road around 7:50pm tonight. The homeless victim who stored his belongings in the van is said to be called “Pete”. Vid Sam Potter. pic.twitter.com/tWjNnuIH7M
— Kent 999s (@Kent_999s) January 3, 2019
Fortunately the homeless man was not inside the vehicle at the time – but all of his belongings were destroyed – leaving him with nothing.
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Witnesses described seeing a man acting suspiciously near the vehicle.
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Now heartbroken residents have launched a fund-raising campaign to get him back on his feet.
The Just Giving page has been launched by Lynne Forester, who wrote: Pete is a local homeless man in Whitstable. He lived in his van, which has just been destroyed by arson.
All of his worldly goods were in the van and he has been left without clothes or bedding.
We aim to raise enough to replace these. As part of a charity which feeds anyone in need Pete has been a regular customer of ours.
The support for this has been amazing. Thank you all so much. We are going to let this run in the hope we can raise enough to help Pete with some alternative accommodation as the van was his home!
One member of the public who has donated said: Hope Pete can see he issupported by his local community.
Alison Eyre-Jackson said: Nobody deserves to be homeless, keep up the good work while another wrote: This is disgusting, why couldnt they just leave him be?!
Kent Police said officers attended the scene with firefighters from Kent Fire and Rescue Service.
A force spokesman said no injuries were reported and an investigation into the blaze is ongoing.
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