Summer rise in number of arsons
Emergency services say they notice a similar trend in West Berkshire every year during the school summer holidays
THE school summer holidays has prompted a rise in the number of arsons in West Berkshire, a trend which police and fire services say they notice every year.
Statistics released by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue (RBFRS) shows that the number of arsons has spiked by about a 25 per cent since July 26, with Newbury's fire station attending an average of 2.5 deliberate fires per week during the first two weeks since the start of the summer break, compared to just two per week before the break.
The figures for last year were even more pronounced, however, with the average number of arsons increasing from two per week to three.
A spokeswoman for the fire service, Nicole Targett, said she was unsurprised by these figures.
“This year is no worse than previous years, but we always see an increase in the number of deliberate fires over the school holidays over Easter and in the summer.
“These are normally small incidents, like bin fires or hedge fires, but it does keep us busy.”
Her views were echoed by Newbury firefighter Matt Fairlie, who said that by just the second day of the school summer holidays this year, Newbury fire station was already busier than normal.
At a meeting with Greenham Parish Council last week, Thames Valley Police's neighbourhood specialist for Greenham, Steve Hayward, said he thought parents should take note that they may be held liable if their children are caught starting fires.
He said: “We have a problem with arson up here (in Greenham), and if one of these fires gets hold of a dry part of the common, it could be a real problem. Around the Pigeon's Farm area a ball of hay was set on fire, and another was started at the racecourse. One of the children who was caught was only eight years old.
“Some of the parents I have spoken to do not appear to take the matter seriously, but of course, if the child is not at the age of criminal responsibility, the parents may be found liable.
“The parents have been told that lighters and matches must be kept away from children and the shops and retailers have been told that they must not sell lighters to children. But some of the parents just say that children will be children.”
A fire prevention officer at the RBFRS, Chris Bunyan, said that they were working hard to change peoples' behaviour through education: "We do a great deal of work with schools and community partners to educate young people in the dangers of this type of behaviour and the fact that fire crews are tied up in dealing with them.”
