Third arson attack in 24 hours

Vandals set fire to seven cars in the third arson attack on an industrial estate near Oswestry in less than 24 hours.Firefighters and police, as well as the force helicopter, were called to the Rednal Industrial Estate in West Felton, last night after the vehicles were set alight.

The blazes have caused thousands of pounds of damage and put lives at risk. The BT lines at the site were also down today due to heat damage.

Firefighters from Oswestry were called to the Rednal Garage, which has been run by owner Rob Hesketh for more than 30 years, at about 6.40pm. Firefighters had the blaze under control about 7.20pm.

And on Wednesday night a lorry and a bus were set alight just a few hours apart on the site .

Police said they were treating both fires on Wednesday as arson and investigating the possibility of whether they were linked.

Mr Hesketh said seven police cars, a police helicopter and two fire appliances were on the estate until about 9pm last night, trying to trace the culprits.

He said: "Some cars were here waiting repairs and some were here just for parts. The damage to the vehicles must be between £5,000 to £6,000, as well as the inconvenience caused.

"All the phone lines on this side of the industrial estate have been cut off because the heat from the fire has damaged one of the overhead lines."

Mr Hesketh, who was still open for business today, added he was determined to carry on.

John Griffiths, fire investigating officer, said: "Over the last two nights, we have attended three arson attacks on the Rednal Industrial Estate, two on Wednesday. At 7.15pm on Wednesday a single decker bus was burnt out and at 9.30pm the same evening a large goods vehicle was also burnt out.

"Last night at about 6.40pm, there was an arson attack and seven cars were destroyed by fire.

"They were all deliberate, so there is someone committing arson in the area.

"From the police and fire point of view we are taking this very seriously, apart from the obvious loss to the owners, if it continues then people's lives could be at risk and on the other side of the coin, the police and fire are committing valuable resources, that could be committed elsewhere."

By Suzanne Roberts and Antonia Merola