Firebugs continue to plague Blandford Street and the surrounding area, with another six wheelie bin blazes during the past 72 hours.

The latest attack caused further misery for businesses as the fire spread to a telegraph pole and disrupted phone and Internet services.

It was the second time in less than a week that Coffea Caban has been hit.

Last week, the Echo reported how owner Mick Phyall had to close temporarily after a blaze spread inside from the back lane, causing thousands of pounds of damage.

Mr Phyall and his wife Susan only reopened on Saturday.

The 47-year-old businessman said: "We were here on Sunday night and cleared all the rubbish away from our fire exit and got rid of all the rubbish in the car park, taking it to the skip.

"Now we don't feel safe shutting up shop. It's enough to make you not want a business here any more."

Crew manager Steve Errington, of Sunderland East fire station, said firefighters were called out three times on Saturday and a further three on Sunday to reports of wheelie bin fires in the city centre.

BT is trying to fix the line problem. A spokeswoman said: "It would appear that vandals set fire to a wheelie bin directly underneath our telegraph pole. Engineers were on site yesterday to look for a temporary fix. However, this is proving difficult due to the damage caused."

Full service is expected to be restored by the end of today.