A BLAZE which left a meeting centre on the Sandy Hill estate a smouldering shell on Monday night is believed to be the work of teenage arsonists.

As The Herald went to press police were investigating the possibility that a group of youths seen near the building shortly before the fire started may be involved.

Firefighters were called to the mostly wooden building at around 9.40pm on Monday after residents reported seeing flames.

Four pumps were called to the scene and firefighters using breathing apparatus spent more than three hours extinguishing the blaze.

At its peak the flames were so intense that they illuminated the night sky as this dramatic picture taken by journalism student James White shows.

By the time the blaze was brought under control all but the front of the building had been reduced to a skeletal mass of charred timber.

As the police investigation got underway on Tuesday Scenes of Crime Officers soon established that the most likely cause of the fire was arson, although the exact method was not yet known.

The Surrey County Council -owned building is on land leased from Waverley and was used as a youth centre until two years ago. Since then it has been used by various local groups as an activity centre.

The Herald understands that a nursery group and a karate club were among the groups currently using the centre.

SCC assistant chief executive Anna Wright was saddened by the news of the fire, believing that the arson attack has robbed the community of a valuable facility.

She said: "There's a lot of good things going on in the neighbourhood and it's a great pity that a facility that benefited the whole community has been damaged in this way.

"Fortunately the building contained no equipment of any great value and our prime concern at the moment is to make the remaining structure safe.

"We will now have to consider the future of the site in the light of what has happened."

She said that council inspectors had been sent to the site to assess the damage and determine what the future options for the building are.

Hans Piorkowski, chairman of the Residents Association of Sandy Hill (RASH), said he was "disgusted" by the fire.

"Someone has had their fun by being a pyromaniac yet they have ruined it for so many people. I hope they are caught," he said.

"This has caused a lot of bad feeling on the estate and many people are very angry about it."

He added that RASH had only just sent out a newsletter asking residents to put forward suggestions on what could be done to make the centre a more vibrant meeting place.