THE owner of a 91-year-old classic car says he is 'devastated' after it was destroyed in a fire.

Paul Anderson, 55, from Mark, claims his 1927 Chevrolet Saloon AA was set alight at Darkside Customs in Tarnock at 5.30am on June 23.

"It is not a nice feeling I have got at the moment," Paul said.

"I had been working on this car since I bought it a year ago, there were a few bits I wanted to do on it so I took it to Darkside Customs so some work could be done.

"When I found out about what happened I was devastated, how could someone do something like this to my car?".

Paul said the car, which is worth around £20,000, is close to his heart as it has been passed down through generations of his family.

"This car has been in my family since 2006, my mother and father-in-law bought the car and used to take the children and grandchildren around for rides in it," Paul said.

"When it became too much for them to keep it going I bought it off them.

"My wife and I have divorced now but I have spent more than 500 hours working on it this year.

"I was going to try and keep it for my children so when they get married they have a nice wedding car to go in."

Paul said the car has been 'completely burnt out' and he is unsure whether he can restore it to its former glory.

"It's very sad that someone could do this, this car is a piece of history," Paul said.

"I have contacted a few shops to see if I could restore it but it won't be easy at all.

"This car is American and its very old so even if I find the parts they won't be easy to get hold of.

"I have put my claim into the insurance company and it is something I am thinking about but I don't know if I will have the time to restore it as it would be a big project."

Firefighters from Burnham, Cheddar and Taunton were called to the Tarnock workshop on June 23.

There was 25 per cent fire damage involving small office and one vehicle within the building.

Firefighters isolated the electrics and extinguished the fire using two breathing apparatus, one hosereel jet, one safety jet and a thermal image camera to check for hotspots.

They also carried out safety procedures regarding asbestos and decontamination.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the cause of the fire was accidental but Mr Anderson claims police visited the premises today (June 25) and said it was arson but the Weekly News has not yet had this confirmed.