A TEENAGE boy has been arrested after a 12-year-old girl suffered serious burns in a suspected arson attack on a caravan.

Fire crews were called to Humber Avenue, Jaywick, shortly before 1.50am yesterday.

A 12-year-old girl was in the caravan.

She was taken by ambulance crews to Colchester Hospital, where she is being treated for serious burns.

Neighbour Dave Dobson, 36, said the girl often stayed in the caravan, which was outside her mum’s home, with her sister.

He said: “I was in my boxer shorts but ran straight out to get the girl out.

“As I did she jumped out of the back window. She got badly burned.

“I doused her in water, her arms were peeling.

“She was in shock and couldn’t even talk to us. I was trying to ask if her sister was still in the caravan.

“Thankfully her sister wasn’t in there.

“The fumes were unreal and the heat was intense - it went up so quickly.

“I burned the back of my head.”

Mr Dobson, who has lived in the road for five years, said he has lived next to the family for two years.

He said: “It’s horrible for this to happen to a 12-year-old girl.

“I put my own feelings aside. I would go out there to help anybody who needed it.”

Another neighbour said she was woken by an explosion after a gas cannister caught fire.

She said: “It rocked the house and woke me up. The girl was on fire and she burned her face.

“Jaywick is always so positive but it’s terrible to see things like this happen here.”

A spokesman for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters extinguished the blaze by 2.26am and used thermal imaging cameras to ensure there were no remaining hotspots.

He said: “One person was left in the care of the ambulance service after suffering from burns.

“An investigation into the cause of the fire will now take place.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said officers were called to the scene by the fire service.

She added: “A 15-year-old boy, from the Clacton area, was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and is in custody for questioning.”

Neighbourhood Watch chairman Dan Casey said: “If this caravan fire proves to be arson, then it is very serious.

“Starting fires can have terrible consequences, destroying homes and endangering lives.

“I just hope that the girl makes a quick recovery – it must have been terrifying for her.”