A fire which gutted a football team’s storage container – leaving them with a bill of thousands of pounds – is believed to have been started deliberately.

Rolvenden Tigers Football Club saw part of its set-up at Benenden Road, Rolvenden, go up in flames in the early hours of Wednesday morning – an act believed to be arson.

In a statement released on Facebook, the club said: “We are having to start from scratch again. There’s only so much we can take.

“Is this what we work so hard for?”

It is believed the fire started in a portaloo before spreading to the container next to it – which contained kits and equipment such as goal posts, corner flags and footballs.

Club chairman Ezio Muratore told KentOnline it was “heartbreaking” for the club – which caters for about 80 young players between 5 and 13.

“It pretty much destroyed everything inside. The damage is unknown yet – we’ve got to do a bit of research – but just the under 13s equipment alone cost more than £1,000.

“It’s left us in a situation we wish we weren’t in at all – we’re all totally shocked by it.”

In a statement to the BBC a fire service spokesman said: "It’s believed the fire was started deliberately."