Two shops that have been closed for the past three weeks, went up in flames in Paphos on Tuesday night, police said.

The fire broke out in one of the two shops on Tombs of the Kings Avenue close to a tourist complex at around 9.30pm.

Firefighters managed to put out the blaze. They found that old furniture and mattresses were kept inside one of the two shops, which was being used as storage areas after closing as a retail outlet.

The second shop, which had been broken into the day before, was being used as an office.

According to initial investigations, the fire was an arson attack but authorities said later the it was caused by a short-circuit in one of the shops.