Police are investigating an arson attack at a building site which has destroyed two new-build homes.

The force was notified of the blaze at the development in Houghton Road, St Ives, by the fire service at about 10pm on October.

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

Police are now working closely with fire service investigators who have now carried out an investigation and concluded the cause of the blaze was arson.

Detective Inspector Nicola Lamport said: “This fire has 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.

“We are treating the fire as arson so I am keen to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and noticed anything at all suspicious.”

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 Friday. 

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.