POLICE are hunting arsonists who started fires at Berinsfield sports centre and school.

The first fire at the Abbey Sports centre was on Friday between 6am and 6.30am when a pile of newspapers against the wall of the building was set alight.

They had been stolen earlier from outside Berinsfield News. The blaze was spotted by a member of the public who called the emergency services.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: "Someone may well have seen whoever was carrying the pile of newspapers or even starting the fire. We urgently need them to contact us."

The second incident was at Berinsfield school at about 10pm the following day. It caused damage to the rear of the building and smoke damaged several classrooms.

The spokesman said: "These are both public buildings there for the benefit of people in that community.

"Wilful damage like this is costly and extremely dangerous and could put the buildings out of action.

"We need witnesses - people can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 if they want to remain anonymous - because we need to stop these people before they do any more damage or hurt someone.

"And we need people to keep vigilant in case there are more cases of fire raising in Berinsfield."