A 'malicious' arson attack in a back garden caused £12,000 worth of damage on Monday.

Patio doors and a pile of railway sleepers were set alight in the rear garden of a property in Carshalton Road, Woodmansterne.

A accelerant is thought to have been used to start the fire which spread to the surrounding wall between 9.45am and 10.15am.

A specialist dog unit attended the scene and enquiries have been made in the area to investigate the fire which is believed to be of 'suspicious origin'.

Detective Constable Errol Chetty said: "I would appeal to anyone who was in the area around the time of the incident and who saw anything suspicious to contact us with information.

"This was a malicious act but thankfully the fire did not have chance to spread otherwise the consequences could have been a lot worse."

Anyone with information should call Surrey Police on 101, quoting reference RB/13/4991, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.