Alarm in Bidford after two cars targeted in suspected arson attacks
TWO car fires in the space of four days have sparked alarm in Bidford – with police treating both as arson.
The first was on Sunday, 1st September with the second incident happening in a different part of the village in the early hours of Wednesday, 4th September.
A spokesperson for the fire service said: “On Sunday, 1st September in the late evening, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to reports of a vehicle on fire on Grafton Lane, Bidford.
“Appliances from Bidford and Alcester fire stations attended.
“Crews found the vehicle completely destroyed by the fire, which they tackled using hose reel jets, breathing apparatus and small gear. They were on the scene for around 50 minutes.”
In terms of the second case, they added: “We were alerted at 3.51 am on Wednesday, 4th September to reports of a vehicle fire on Laxton Way in Bidford.
“We had two appliances in attendance, and, upon arrival, crews found one private motor vehicle which was well alight in a driveway and that fire had spread to the external part of the property.
“Crews were at the scene for around 30 minutes.”
In response to the concerns being raised in the community about what’s going on, Warwickshire Police neighbourhood sergeant David Ebbs told the Herald: “Specialist officers are investigating two incidents of arson against vehicles and we will update our residents when there is an update.
“We have boosted patrols and we thank residents for continuing to share their concerns with us.”
A number of people also noted the value of having fire engines close by to deal with the two cases.
Bidford has recently fought a high-profile campaign against the original version of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue’s plans for reorganisation that would have taken away the existing on-call cover, despite high availability – especially overnight.
A big part of the initial reasoning behind the controversial Resourcing to Risk changes was to respond to statistics that showed more incidents occurred during the day – but Warwickshire has more fire engines available at night than in the day.
Those plans have been revised with Bidford and four other places across the county set to retain an overnight on-call service.
