FIREFIGHTERS were called last night to a blaze at a cricket pavilion in a village near Banbury - the second suspected arson attack on a cricket club in two days.

The fire broke out in the 5m x 15m single-storey pavilion in Bloxham, at 10.55pm, causing severe damage to the building and its contents.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire Fire Service said the fire appeared to have been started deliberately.

On Tuesday night, at Challow and Childrey Cricket Club, near Wantage, there was a similar blaze, which is also being treated as arson.

The fire caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, but could have been worse had it not been for quick-thinking cricket club members.

As the shed at Vicarage Hill, in East Challow burned, they pulled out four mowers and a roller, but three commemorative oak benches were destroyed.

Thames Valley Police have been informed about both the fires but it is not yet known if they are linking the incidents.