A BUSINESSMAN has vowed to resurrect his popular auction house after it was gutted in an arson attack.
Up to £20,000 of furniture, ornaments and household goods were destroyed in the blaze which swept through BSA Auctions, in Humberston Road, Tetney, shortly before 1am yesterday.
A Lincolnshire Fire Service spokesman said two fires were started deliberately at the site and the business, on The Beam Station Business Park, was being treated as a crime scene.
A neighbouring joinery business and a burger van were also destroyed.
Specially-trained sniffer dogs were drafted in yesterday afternoon to help retrace the path the culprit took and help detectives piece together clues.
A team of forensic officers spent several hours combing the site while others studied footage from security cameras which monitor the business park.
More than 30 firefighters from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service fought the blaze throughout the night, alongside crews from Waltham, Peaks Lane in Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Louth and North Somercotes.
The service's hydraulic platform was also deployed and the A1031 was closed for several hours while the flames were extinguished.
BSA Auctions owner Deighton Royle, who estimated the cost of the damage in his building at £20,000, said: "It is a shame for all the people who brought their items for auction because it is all gone.
"I will be open for business as usual in a fortnight and keep the Friday auctions going. I have built it up since starting on my own in December and it has kept on growing."
Inspector James Trafford, of Lincolnshire Police, said the fire was "significant" and he appealed to anyone who has information or who witnessed any suspicious activity to get in touch.
Call Lincolnshire Police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting incident 21 of Friday, March 29.
