Vandals set fire to a furniture van used by a Medway charity which supports people who would otherwise be homeless.

The vehicle is owned by Emmaus, which relies totally on donations and house clearance to survive and pay for the welfare of residents living at its hostel in Chatham.

Firefighters were called to Bardell Terrace, Rochester, near Emmaus’ second-hand furniture store, after smoke was spotted coming from the wheels at about 2am on Friday.

Martin Sissons, manager of the High Street shop, said “I am shocked and disgusted. Who would do this? We are here to help people. The van had diesel in it and could have blown up.”

The vehicle will now be off the road for at least a week which means staff have had to postpone pick-up and delivery jobs.

Mr Sissons, who took over as manager of the store last month, said: “We are hoping that it’s only damage to the wheels and wheel arches, But if it’s the chassis it will have to be written off.

“As it’s arson, I don’t think we are insured. A good secondhand van will cost £15,000, which we don’t have.”

The van is one of two driven by Emmaus residents, known as companions, who live in Cherry Tree House, Prospect Row.

They are employed by Emmaus which pays their bills and provides food and accommodation. The companions have to give up their employment benefit to get the charity’s support.