A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of arson and assault after a tent was set on fire in a listed structure. 

The 50-year-old from Brighton was arrested by officers after the fire at the Old Reading Room in Madeira Drive on Tuesday. 

Police were called to the Grade-II listed structure at Black Rock, on Brighton seafront, shortly before 6pm to a report of a man being threatened by another man. 

On arrival, the force said, officers discovered a tent on fire in the structure. 

The Argus:

East Sussex Fire and Rescue sent two engines to the building to extinguish the flames. 

Pictures from the scene show charred marks on the architecture, which homeless people are using for shelter.

Burnt fragments of belongings can also be seen inside the structure. 

A suspect was arrested just after 8pm on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. 

He remained in custody until 4pm yesterday.