A gang of delincuents set fire to the falla in Picanya's Plaza del País Valenciano at around 6.30am this morning, totally destroying the monument that cost €18,000 to build.

The chapter is now urgently looking at options to ensure that there is at least something for the fallera mayor to set fire to tomorrow, the night of the 'cremà'.

It seems that the same thing happened in 2005 though, on that occasion, some elements of the falla survived the arsonists' attack.

This year's creation was entitled 'Cuentos chinos' and featured a Chinese couple crossing a bridge over a pond filled with other figurines.

The photo shows a local girl comparing a photo of the original with the charred remains that are left.