A teenager has been arrested after equipment at a beloved play park was burned to the ground in the early hours.

Police and fire crews were called to the blaze in Cross Lane, Faversham, beside Faversham Pools, at about 3.50am today.

Officers are investigating the incident, which is "believed to be suspicious".

Police have this afternoon revealed a 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the incident.

He is currently in custody.

An image taken this morning shows a much-used piece of apparatus blackened and burned to the ground.

The "vile" suspected arson attack has sparked outrage from hundreds of residents who have taken to social media to share their dismay.

One woman described it as an "absolute disgrace".

She added: "Makes me sad that whoever did this thought it would be 'fun'. Hopefully they will have plenty of CCTV around and will be able to catch them."

Another resident described the vandalism as "disgusting", while another still wrote: "Why?! Just mindless idiots who have absolutely no thought for anyone else and no respect for anything."

Angela Harrison, who sits on Swale Borough Council which owns the play area, added this morning: "It’s heartbreaking to see the damage.

"I simply can’t understand the mentality of whoever did this. I hope those responsible are quickly caught and punished.

“It’s a park for goodness’ sake! It’s a place where children and families meet up and have fun together, and now they will suffer because of someone’s criminal actions.

“We’re reporting the criminal damage to the police, and we hope the nearby CCTV will be able to help identify those responsible.

“We will have to speak to our insurers about replacing the equipment, but this will unfortunately take time.

"It will still ultimately end up costing hard-pressed council tax payers to replace it, and that gives less money for other services.

“For now, we are working to secure the play area, and we’ll have to get a contractor in to clear the remains so the undamaged areas can be safely used by the community.”