A man was seen this afternoon setting fire to the garden of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in Funchal. The situation was witnessed by several people who were in the vicinity and who ended up extinguishing the flames.

The alert was given to the Madeira Volunteer Firefighters, who went to the scene with a light vehicle, then proceeding to dampen down the fire.

The Public Security Police took charge of the incident and are trying to identify the individual who fled.