School buildings blaze was arson

The blaze broke out in the grounds of Cabin Hill school

An overnight fire in the grounds of an east Belfast school is being treated as arson.

The blaze at Cabin Hill School on the Upper Newtownards Road was discovered shortly before 0100 BST.

No-one was injured but two derelict buildings behind the school were badly damaged.

Michael Graham from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said there were concerns that the blaze would engulf the rest of the school.

"When we arrived we found two large derelict buildings well alight," he said.

"At that stage we had concerns the fire may spread from the initial buildings to further school buildings.

"We had six fire appliances tasked to attend, but because we able to get water on and stop the fire spreading, we were quite quickly able to scale down to three appliances, including an aerial appliance."

A police spokesperson said that initial inquiries suggested the blaze was started maliciously, however, their inquiries are continuing.