A MAN will appear before magistrates this morning after being charged with arson following a fire in Northumberland at the weekend.

Just after 8am on Saturday, Northumbria Police were alerted by the fire service about a suspicious blaze at a vacant flat in Richard Street, Blyth.

Jason Donnivan Redford, 23, of Rosalind Street, Ashington, was later arrested and charged with arson. He is due to appear at Bedlington magistrates’ court today.