Police say they are treating a late-night blaze damaging a mosque as a hate crime – with footage capturing the moment a suspected arsonist started the fire.

The front entrance to the mosque in Peaceheaven in East Sussex – six miles east along the coast from Brighton – was damaged along with a vehicle parked outside.

Sussex Police said in a statement they were called to reports of an arson attack in Phyllis Avenue just before 10pm on Saturday.

They confirmed the incident, in which no one was injured, was being treated as a hate crime.

Video appeared to show a man in a black jacket at the entrance to the Peacehaven mosque seconds before the flames erupted.

At least one person is believed to have been inside the Peace Community Centre and Mosque in Peacehaven when the blaze took hold – while two men could been seen in a video near a car which was also burnt out in the aftermath.

Det Supt Karrie Bohanna said: ‘We understand the concerns this has caused within the community, and the impact that will be felt by the Muslim community as a result.

‘There is already an increased police presence at the scene and there are also additional patrols taking place to provide reassurance at other places of worship across the county.Worshippers had only just left after the last prayer service of the day when the mosque was attacked.

The volunteer, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Evening prayers finished, so most people had left the mosque.

‘They came in balaclavas and sprayed gasoline on the entrance and the few steps – they put it on the door, the entrance and the vehicle parked outside.

‘They threw something at it and the vehicle blew up. The fire reached the entrance to the mosque.

‘People around phoned the fire brigade straight away. Two people inside the mosque got out as soon as they could.The chairman, who is an elderly man in his 60s, ran out it just before the car was blown to pieces.’

The volunteer said he believes this was a targeted attack by men intent on murdering Muslims, adding: ‘It’s clearly a targeted attack.

‘They were trying to gain access to the mosque – we believe to commit murder.

Despite only having a small congregation, the volunteer told of fears among the the Muslim community of local tensions rising, saying: ‘There has been a rise in racism around here recently.

‘It’s a quiet area, there’s only a few Muslim people here. Everyone here is affected – it’s a small community of Muslims.

‘Our neighbours, who are not Muslims, came out crying. We have good relations with everybody who lives around.

‘Everyone is obviously scared, we don’t know what’s going to happen.’

Daily Mail Report