Teen beauty spot drinkers are ramblers, not rebels
- Dave Burrows
Man escapes Telford arson attack
Saturday 28th August 2010, 11:40AM BST.
A man who was sleeping in his camper van said he was lucky to be alive after his vehicle was torched today by arsonists in a spate of attacks on a troubled Telford estate.
Ron Hyde, left, was sleeping in his camper van in Sutton Hill when it was set alight. Ron is pictured with his son Zak Hyde.
Ron Hyde was staying in Shropshire from his home in Cornwall to visit his terminally ill wife in hospital.
His Mercedes, parked outside the home of friends Peter and Pauline Walton, was set alight, but Mr Hyde awoke and managed to douse the flames before escaping in the drama in Summerhill at about 4.15am.
Moments earlier the arsonists attacked a car and a Commer camper van 100 yards down the road, gutting them both, before going on to Southfield to destroy a caravan.
The burnt out caravan on Selbourne
The arson spree started at about 12.15am in Selbourne, Sutton Hill, when another caravan was set ablaze and gutted.
Geoff Crane and his partner Lesley Freeman had only just bought the caravan and were preparing to take their first holiday in it to Wales next weekend.
Mr Hyde, 56, had come up to Telford with his 16-year-old son Zak to visit his 47-year-old wife Tina, who had been taken ill and admitted a fortnight ago during another trip to see friends.
He said: “I was asleep in the back of the van when I was awoken by a loud bang.
The wrecked camper van on Southgate
“It must have caused about £1,500 damage but I am lucky to be alive.”
The camper van destroyed just down the road belonged to 62-year-old Barbara Bailey, who was in her home with her partner Bob Earley and her 11-year-old grand-daughter, Courtney Jones, when the vehicle was gutted.
Mr Crane, 57, was in his house with Miss Freeman and his 21-year-old daughter Leigh and her children, Michaela, two, and Sky, five. Inspector Martyn Barnes, of West Mercia Police, said detectives and scene of crimes officers were investigating.
By Simon Hardy
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enough people know who is doing this, the police need to sort this soon or i believe the public may take matters into their own hands. there needs to be a night time curfew on the estate and any one who is caught out after dark should be charged by the police with criminal intent.
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I used to live on that estate many years ago, it doesn’t sound like any attempt at regeneration or redevelopment has done anything to rid the area of the vermin that drove me to move away.
As irresponsible as it sounds, I’d say to the likes of ‘Richie’ above that taking matters into your own hands is well overdue. The police have shown themselves to be historically inadequate in handling troubles on this estate, far beyond the time I spent living there.
The only language these vile individuals understand is there own damaged view on life. Let them choke on their own medicine in the name of justice.
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have been trying for ages to suggest via these websites here and at home–that it is time to make and enforce new laws–the peoples law it could be done
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