Police seek man who set fire to petrol station in Staten Island, New York

Footage shows a man filling a petrol tank and spraying fuel around the pump

Police are looking for a man who started a fire at a New York City petrol station.

The blaze, which left another man nearby seriously injured, was started in the early hours of Monday morning.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) released CCTV footage showing a man filling a petrol tank and spraying fuel around the pump.

He can then be seen setting a piece of paper alight and dropping it onto the spilled fuel.

The man leaps back as the petrol bursts into flames before running away from the scene.

A fire extinguisher system promptly put out the flames, but a 21-year-old man nearby suffered internal injuries.

According to police, he remains in hospital in a serious, but stable, condition.

Police are appealing for information about the man who started the fire.

He arrived at the petrol station on Richmond Avenue, Staten Island, in a blue minivan and was last seen wearing a light-coloured long sleeved shirt, dark coloured shorts, and dark coloured slippers.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA.