Success claim in arson fight

Police, firefighters and housing chiefs are claiming success in the battle against junior arsonists causing mayhem on a housing estate in Telford.

Woodside has been plagued by blazes in recent years, with yobs sometimes lying in wait to stone firefighters or hurl abuse at them. But a campaign to crack down on the problem has seen a dramatic drop in reported fires for the second year in a row.

The number of so-called “secondary fires” in Woodside, such as youngsters setting light to rubbish piles and wheelie bins, fell from 46 between April and December 2006 to 41 between the same period last year.

This compares with 101 reported secondary fires for the same time in 2005.

Officials claim it is thanks to a pro-active campaign by the Woodside Community Safety Initiative.

This brings together Telford & Wrekin Council, Wrekin Housing Trust, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service and West Mercia Constabulary’s local policing team.

Hundreds of leaflets have been dropped off at homes, urging residents to report fly-tipping and not to put out their bins until collection day. Rubbish on the estate has also been cleared away promptly.

Phil Heywood, Woodside’s neighbourhood manager, said: “Nuisance fires were identified as one of the major issues of anti-social behaviour on Woodside by residents and agencies.

“We realised that the best approach would be for the agencies involved to work together to get to the heart of the problem and the figures show it is paying off.”

Dave Bishton, station manager at Tweedale Fire Station, said: “It is very pleasing to see that the hard work carried out by all the agencies involved is showing positive results. We are very aware of the impact that such nuisance fires have on the local community as well as on our ability to respond to more serious incidents in the area.”