A RESIDENT of an apartment block said she had "never been so scared" after overflowing bins were set ablaze near her flat.

The bins near to a block of flats in Morley Street were set on fire, with flames licking the side of a building.

The resident, who did not want to be named, described waking up to an unusual smell of smoke at around midnight on Saturday morning.

She said: "I had just started falling asleep and then I woke up because I could smell something weird. My room smelt of smoke.

"At first, I thought it was my house on fire, but it was hard to distinguish where it was coming from because it was such an unusual burning smell.

"I was terrified and shaking quite drastically. I tried to look out the window but I couldn't see anything at this point. I waited a few moments to calm down and then I could see that there was a fire out there, and the smoke was quite engulfing."

A spokeswoman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue said they were called to the scene at 12.14am on Saturday (October 16).

She said: "It was a deliberate ignition and there were no known hazards. No one was hurt."

Pictures from the aftermath of the blaze show the wall of a building charred from flames, with part of a poster on the wall burnt.

The fire in Morley Street was just one of several reported across Brighton late on Friday and into the early hours of Saturday.

A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

The resident said that after the fire had been put out by the emergency services, rubbish was scattered all up the street.

She said: "When I got back from work after the fire, someone had cleaned it up but they hadn't moved it - they swept it all to the sides again and created a path.

"I think it's absolutely revolting. The bins by my house were incredibly bad - you've lost a lot of pathway on the way to my house.

Waste removal contractors began work yesterday to clear side waste and overflowing bin store rooms, with the council citing "serious concerns" to public health and safety following recent fires at bins across Brighton.

The resident also called on the council to get the dispute with the GMB sorted, especially as residents of the city have "gone through so much" over the last two years due to the pandemic/

She said: "I've never been so scared and we shouldn't be made to have these health and safety risks.

"Flames were going up the wall of building that the bin was in front of, burning up a poster on the wall. If the fire brigade hadn't have got there, it could have been much worse and it's just not acceptable."

Have you got a story for us? Email news@theargus.co.uk or contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletter to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

You can also call us on 01273 021 400.