ARSONISTS who targeted and destroyed two buildings within an hour have been branded "selfish" and "thoughtless".

Troublemakers set fire to a barn at Bolton Gate Saddlery, in Weston Coyney, around 7.30pm on Sunday, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Minutes later, the visitor centre at Park Hall Country Park, a few minutes away from the saddlery, went up in flames.

An investigation has concluded both blazes were deliberate, and could be linked.

Jo Hurst, joint owner of the saddlery who lives on site, said: "My granddaughter saw the fire and all I could think about was the horses.

"The fire was on the first floor of a two-storey barn but the horses were in an adjoining building.

"Luckily, we had caught it early and managed to get them out.

"The roof has gone in the barn and there is structural damage, we don't know what will happen to it yet or how much it will cost.

"We feel violated. It's just so horrible and thoughtless."

Five fire crews attended and spent almost three hours at the scene.

They managed to stop the fire spreading and salvaged some of the horse riding equipment.

The seven horses were put in the field overnight but have since returned to their stable.

None of the animals or staff at the yard were injured.

Firefighters from Hanley, Burslem, Ipstones and Cheadle were then called out to the visitor centre at 8.10pm and spent all night at the scene.

A high-volume pump was also brought in from Rugeley to pump additional water in from a fishing pool because of the remote location of the fire.

The building, run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, was completely destroyed and was being demolished yesterday.

Carol Gibbs, the council's environmental services manager, said: "This is a terrible event as the visitor centre hosts lots of activities for children as well as nature groups and this will deprive them of an opportunity to learn more about the wildlife in the park."

Fire investigation officer Kelvin Knapper said: "Fire investigations into the incidents have established that both fires were started deliberately and there is the possibility that they are linked.

"Obviously bonfire weekend is a notoriously busy time for us and by dealing with these incidents it meant that these crews weren't available to attend other incidents.

"The selfish individuals involved clearly didn't think about the fact that whilst we were dealing with these incidents their family or friends may have needed our help."

Anyone with any information should call Staffordshire Police on 0300 123 4455 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.