A COUPLE are counting the cost of a suspected arson attack at their Bicester home on Tuesday.

James Dutton was working on his car in the front of the house in Lawrence Way at about 11am when a neighbour shouted that plumes of black smoke were coming from the back of the property.

Mr Dutton, 53, who works for Oxford Bus Company, ran through the house to find a blaze in his garden and garage. He said: “A garden storage bin was an inferno.

“The area was engulfed. The neighbours were saying get out. It was only when I went outside that I realised the two dogs, Wesley and Max, were still inside.”

Mr Dutton, who lives at the house with wife Lynn and stepson Jay Eccleston, 30, got the dogs out safely.He said: “It was like CSI in here. Forensics have been pouring all over it.”

There is significant damage to the back of the house and garage and parts of the conservatory and three windows have been ruined. Among the equipment in the garage was a freezer, tumble dryer, two motorbikes, a tandem, canoes and a jacuzzi they planned to install.

Mr Dutton said: “I suppose we are lucky the neighbour alerted me as it would not have been long before the kitchen went up.”

Thames Valley Police said it was treating the incident as arson and are appealing for witnesses.

Anyone with information should call Dc Joe Stevenson on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.