A second man has died following an arson attack last week on a convenience store in Kennington, South London.

Scotland Yard named the dead man as Hamidi Hamidulla, 31, an Afghan national who worked at the Price Cutter store on Clapham Road. The shop's owner, Khizar Hayat, a Kashmiri, was burnt to death when he was trapped in the store during a petrol bomb attack last Thursday.

A man with a history of mental illness problems was questioned yesterday about that attack, and two other firebomb attacks on Asian corner shops that police believe may be racially motivated.

The man, 33, was arrested on Monday in Stockwell, South London, not far from the scene of one of the arson attacks. Yesterday police were considering holding identity parades.

Police had issued a computer image of the suspect, who is said to have launched one of the attacks by shouting: "Here’s a petrol bomb for you."

The police investigations concern three attacks in the past three weeks, including the one in Clapham Road, Kennington, last week in which Khizar Hayat was burnt to death when he was trapped in the Pricecutter store after an attack during working hours.

Mr Hayat, whose wife and five children were left homeless by the Kashmir earthquake, had come to Britain to earn money for them.

The first attack was on a newsagent’s in Tulse Hill on April 14 when a bottle filled with petrol struck a customer. A second petrol bomb was thrown at an off-licence in South Norwood on April 20.

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