A DRAMATIC early hours fire which destroyed a van and forced a family to evacuate their home is being treated as a suspected arson attack.

The devastating fire, which started shortly after midnight on Monday in Maud Road, Dorchester, destroyed a delivery vehicle belonging to the Dorset Kiwi Butcher business.

The fire also spread to a fence of a nearby property and was in danger of spreading further, leading to one family with young children having to leave leaving their home in the middle of the night.

Nicole Skipper, of Maud Road, was first alerted to the fire by her sister-in-law who had been staying with her.

She said: “If she had gone to sleep, we wouldn’t have known about it.

“She went to bed and literally 10 minutes later, she could see all these flames outside, it was massive.

“It was all coming over the wall. You could see it from the window, that’s how big it was. It was just orange.

“Our fence went up in flames and one of our bedroom windows has been cracked too.

“We were panicking because we have two children, who were sleeping upstairs.

“There are three bedrooms and one of them is in the corner at the top of the stairs near to the fence. You could feel the heat coming through the window.”

Ms Skipper said if the van had been parked closer to her garden’s wooden gates it could have been a lot worse.

She added: “At the end of the day, it was lucky nobody was hurt. Things are replaceable, but people – not so much.”

Dion Tantrum, owner of the van and Dorset’s Kiwi Butcher, said he received a call shortly after midnight alerting him to the incident.

He explained: “My phone was ringing, and I thought - who is phoning me up at this time?”

He then raced to the scene to find that his delivery van had been gutted by the fire.

Mr Tantrum said he doesn’t know how the fire was started but supports the fire and police services in their investigation.

He said: “The police and fire services in this country are brilliant. I have every confidence in them.”

Mr Tantrum said his customers have been very supportive since hearing about the news.

He said: “There’s only so much I can do, I’ve got to keep going.

“My customers have been brilliant. I have a really good relationship with them. One customer brought in cakes on Tuesday. They look after me and I look after them.”

A spokesman for the fire service said: “At approximately 12.06am on Monday one fire engine from Dorchester was sent to reports of a van on fire in Maud Road.

“Upon arrival there was a running fuel fire, a van on fire and this was catching the fence of a house which was also very close to a garage.

“A second fire engine was also requested.

“Crews got to work firstly with two hoses from a safe working distance, then two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus took over until the fires were put out.

“Crews liaised with Dorset Police and local residents and made the area safe before returning to their station.

“The fire is believed to have been started deliberately.”