AN ARSONIST was caught on camera moments after setting fire to a Newport shop.

The footage recorded outside the Premier store on Risca Road, Stow Hill, at 1.20am on Thursday, shows a hooded figure running away from the blaze moments after pouring petrol on the window and setting it alight.

Firefighters from Malpas arrived ten minutes later to extinguish the fire, which caused around £1,000 worth of damage leaving a melted window and internal smoke damage. No one was injured.

But shop manager Jahangir Ahmad, 38, who only discovered there had been a fire when he arrived to open the shop at 6.30am, said things could have been much worse if it spread to the nearby alcohol shelves.

He said: “The whole shop could have gone up.”

Mr Ahmad, who took over the shop in April, added he was thankful his family, including wife Farzana, 32, and children Hussan, ten and Thaira, five, hadn’t yet moved into the flat upstairs.

He said: “I was really shocked. I thought this was a really nice area and we’ve never had any trouble. This is a serious crime.”

“We have had a really good response from the public since we opened, saying we are doing a fantastic job so I can’t think of a reason that this has happened.”

Mr Ahmad and his family moved from Stevenage to take over the shop, installing CCTV, an alarm system and shutters which he said prevented the culprit pouring petrol through the letter box.

Gwent Police confirmed they were treating the incident as arson and asked anyone with information to contact them on 01633 838111 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.