Firefighters had to put out a fire in an apartment block in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Crews from Southend fire station were called out to the incident on the ground floor of Longbow Flats, in Sherwood Way, at about 12.55am.
The fire at the bottom of a ground floor staircase, started after someone had lit newspapers, left minor smoke damage in the building's entrance hall.
Officers were able to put out the blaze and check no further damage had been caused by 1.10am.
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