CHILD firebugs are believed to be behind a fire that gutted a disused food warehouse in Stratford this week.

Four fire crews and an ambulance were called to the warehouse leased by Campbells Foods, which is by the Amec site on the Timothy's Bridge Road industrial estate, to tackle the blaze at 11.10am on Monday.

Assistant divisional officer Kevin Gardner of Stratford Fire Station said the blaze was almost certainly caused deliberately and the most likely culprits were youngsters seen hanging around the area just minutes before the smoke began to appear.

More than 300 staff working at the nearby Amec Capital Projects headquarters were forced to congregate in the car par for an hour in case the fire spread to the neighbouring offices.

The blaze spread quickly through the huge warehouse because it was filled with wooden pallets which "go up like a bonfire", according to Mr Gardner who said they create the right conditions for a fire to grow.

The stacked pallets and thick black smoke created a huge danger for the firefighters, who had to search the building despite it being unmanned for fear that the fire raisers were still in there.

"The pallets burn through very quickly and can topple over," said Mr Gardner.

"They had to search the building in case anyone was there, which was very dangerous but they did brilliantly and had the fire under control quickly."

He added: "The message for children is to think twice before even thinking of starting a fire because they don't understand the danger or the speed which the fire travels."