An old church has been destroyed and another severely damage by suspicious fires set early Sunday morning in a small community in Durham Region.

A 17-year-old suspect is has been taken into custody in connection to the fires but charges are pending, Durham police spokesman Dave Selby told CTV.ca.

The Ontario Fire Marshal is looking into a series of fires that were lit within a short distance from each other in the tiny community of Cannington before 4 a.m.

Knox Presbyterian Church, a mainstay in the area for the past 150 years, was destroyed by the blaze while Trinity United Church suffered extensive damage.

A number of vehicles in the area were also set on fire around the same time.

Durham police responded to a call for a car fire on Laidlaw Street around 2:30 a.m.When they arrived, they saw a church next to the car was also set ablaze.

A short time later they received another call about a second car and church fire about a block away. Police brought in their K-9 unit and eventually arrested a suspect.