'Community feels under attack after arson'

Stack Shack Restaurant on Ladypool Road in Sparkbrook burnt down on Monday 14 July at around 03:00 BST, with police treating it as arson

A fire at a restaurant in Birmingham is being treated as arson, as a close friend of the owners said the community felt under attack.

Stack Shack Restaurant on Ladypool Road in Sparkbrook burnt down on Monday 14 July at about 03:00 BST while people were saying their morning prayers in the mosque next door, leading to them being evacuated.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said the incident was being treated as arson, adding: "Thankfully no one was injured but significant damage was caused to the building."

Ian Vaughan Fellows, a business consultant who has known the owners of the restaurant for a long time, said the local community was shocked by the blaze.

"I think the community feels under attack," he told the BBC.

"From speaking to the people who were saying their prayers at the time of the incident, they interpret it more as an attempt on their lives as well as being arson of the premises next door."

The owners of the restaurant said they were too shaken to be interviewed, but said the fire had impacted their family, those attending the mosque next door and workers left without a job.

"I think the owners feel that all the hard work they've put into the premises over many years has been greatly destroyed by what's happened," Mr Fellows said.

"And I feel the loss of the residential accommodation is a blow to an area which is badly in need of housing."

"I think the owners feel that all the hard work they've put into the premises over many years has been greatly destroyed," Ian Vaughan Fellows said

Speaking about the impact on the community, Mr Fellows added: "I think they're very shocked, it was completely unexpected, it came completely out of the blue, it affects a relatively quiet part of the area.

"It's also damaged trust and confidence in the mosque as a safe place of worship and also led to the loss of a business that created a great deal of employment and had been popular with the community for many years."

West Midlands Police have urged anyone with information on the arson attack to call 101, quoting 20/308757/25.