THE BOSS of a firm left counting the £1.7million cost of an arson attack has vowed his company will bounce back.

David Savory, director of environment and external affairs, at waste disposal firm Biffa, said the firm was continuing to trade as best it could after the fire, at its yard on Rawreth Industrial Estate, in Rawreth Lane, Rayleigh.

Mr Savory said he had no doubt the attack was deliberate.

He said: “Because so many different parts of the site were affected by the fire, it clearly means it was a deliberate attack rather than being an accident.

“The police are investigating it on that basis.

“I can only speculate the possible reason behind this was a serious attempt to disrupt our business.

“However, we are continuing business as usual with very little inconvenience to our customers.

“We are running our service from our other depots in London.”

Arsonists set light to six lorries, skips and a temporary office building at about 9.30pm on Saturday.

Neighbours spoke of the mayhem caused by the fire, with firefighters, at one point, forced to shelter behind bins, when the lorries’ fuel tanks exploded. Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call police at Leigh CID, on 0300 3334444.