Arson shock in quiet Blackburn cul-de-sac (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Arson shock in quiet Blackburn cul-de-sac
9:01am Monday 16th July 2012 in News
By Dan Clough, Reporter
Firefighters tackle the blaze. Photo: Saliah Idris
NEIGHBOURS have described how they were awoken by an early hours arson attack on a car in a quiet cul-de-sac.
The Vauxhall Astra was set alight on the driveway of a house in Willow Trees Drive, Blackburn, at 1.30am on Saturday.
Firefighters attended the incident for about an hour, using a hose reel and breathing apparatus to tackle the blaze.
Residents said they feared the blaze would spread to the house.
Insp Graham Ashcroft, from Blackburn Police, last night said no arrests had been made but an investigation was ongoing.
One neighbour said: “My wife woke me and said there was a car on fire. It was a shock. “It looked like it was going to spread to the house, as the car was parked quite close to it.
“There were massive flames, they were so high.
“This is a peaceful, pleasant place to live, which is why we moved here 13 years ago.
“But the street spent the whole day in shock. It was genuinely scary. The kids couldn’t get back to sleep.”
Another neighbour said: “It was terrifying that the car was so close to the home. The scary thing was that the family inside seemed to be the last people to know about it.
“I phoned the fire brigade, but they already knew about it.
“It is as suburban and relaxed around here as you can imagine, and this has come as a great shock to the community.”
And another neighbour said: “My husband woke me up and I saw all the flashing lights and commotion.
“Things like this make you frightened.”
Anyone with information about the incident should call police on 101.
