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A man has been charged with arson after a truck packed with belongings repossessed from a home was torched.

Two shocked workers could only look on as petrol was poured over the vehicle and it was set alight.

The Luton low-loader was written off in Thursday afternoon’s attack, at a cost of around £40,000. The value of the items inside the burning truck was not known.

The arson attack was the final, violent act in a bankruptcy case.

James Tennant, managing director of Aldridge removal firm Movecorp, which owns the truck, described the carnage as the most severe incident in the firm’s ten-year history.

The company has a 40-strong fleet, with 90 workers, and specialises in repossessions.

“We’ve had incidents, but nothing this dramatic,” said the 42-year-old.

“We’ve faced crowds and had tyres slashed, but nothing on this scale.”

The drama unfolded outside a detached property in a Cornish village.

Movecorp had sent two low-loaders to the property, each manned by two workers.

“Our employees are trained and have a process,” said Mr Tennant.

“They ensured the property was empty – the truck was burning on the driveway – and contacted police and the fire service.”

The workers caught in the terrifying incident have asked not to be named.

Mr Tennant added: “After the man calmed down and realised what he had done, he apologised to our guys.

“They were obviously shaken and we put them up in a hotel for the night.”

The blaze was so ferocious that two fire appliances were needed to douse the flames.

A spokesman for Cornwall Fire and Rescue said: “The van was well alight. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two high-pressure hose-reel jets at the incident to extinguish the fire.”

Devon and Cornwall Police said: “A man has been charged with arson, and will appear before magistrates.”