A man was arrested on suspicion of arson following a fire at a building site in St Ives which destroyed two new-build homes.

The force was notified of the blaze at the development in Houghton Road at about 10pm on Friday October 6.

Two properties were "severely damaged" and nearby roads were closed due to the thickness of the smoke in the area.

The 47-year-old from St Ives was arrested on Saturday October 7 on suspicion of arson, conspiracy to commit fraud and possession of an offensive weapon.

He has since been bailed to appear at Parkside police station on January 6.

READ MORE: Police launch investigation into fire in St Ives 

Detective Inspector Nicola Lamport said: “This fire caused a considerable amount of damage and while there is no estimate on the cost at this time, two new-build properties have been destroyed, meaning it will likely be hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“There was also inconvenience for local people with the smoke and the resulting road closure.

Anyone with information should report it to police online or call 101 and quote incident number 585 of 6 October.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said they were call to reports of a house fire at The How in Houghton Road at 9.38pm on October 6. 

Two crews from Huntingdon and Cambourne arrived and requested an aerial appliance, which came with a crew from Cambridge. 

The fire was affecting the first floor and roof and was well developed when crews arrived, the fire service has said.

The A1123 was closed until around 2am as crews dealt with the fire using two hose reels and the aerial appliance to apply water onto the fire from height.

At around 12.30am just one fire engine remained at the scene and that left at around 4.40am.