Church Preen arson attack destroys camping equipment

Marquees, beds and tables belonging to a church youth camp have been destroyed after storage sheds in a Shropshire village were set on fire, causing £40,000 of damage.

The two metal sheds on a camp site in Church Preen, near Church Stretton, were destroyed at about 7am yesterday. Police are treating the incident as arson.

It has devastated the leaders at the Greek Orthodox Youth Camp of Great Britain, which owns the site and runs a camp for up to 65 during the summer months.

Camp leaders today said they believed those responsible broke into the field and used fuel to set the sheds on fire, destroying buildings and four marquees, 20 smaller tents, children's camp beds, and cooking equipment, including a cooker and fridge.

Firefighters who spent more than an hour tackling the blaze were hampered by propane gas cylinders at risk of exploding.

Guy Maxfield, chairman of the camp committee, said: "It's devastating that this has happened but there's an enormous support network, and we're determined that it will be back next summer."

Guy Williams, investigating officer for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, said tackling the fires had been made more complicated by the fact that the stores housed nine propane gas cylinders which potentially could have exploded causing the death or serious injury of firefighters or members of the public.

Police spokesman Richard Ewels, said: "There were two fires involving storage containers in a field in Church Preen and they are being treated as arson."

Anyone with information can contact Bridgnorth or Shrewsbury police on 0300 333 3000 or anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.