Twenty fires in three months is still too many say fire service

FIREFIGHTERS have been called out to tackle 20 deliberate fires in West Berkshire in the past three months.
While this figure marks a significant reduction from previous years, a representative from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said that he is still concerned by the number.
Speaking at a Newbury and Thatcham Neighbourhood Watch meeting on Monday, community safety co-ordinator for the service, Ian Taylor, urged people to do more to protect their property and belongings.
He said that since March 1, crews had been called to tackle 10 rubbish fires in the district, as well as one grass fire, one tree fire, one wheelie bin fire, three heathland and scrub fires and three non specific fires, that included pieces of furniture.
While the fire service were not able to give a breakdown on the area of each incident, it confirmed that it had attended fires in Speen, Thatcham and Greenham.
Speaking to the Newbury Weekly News this week, Mr Taylor said: “Twenty fires is not a lot considering the amount we had a few years back and we have nothing in the town centre now, which used to be a big problem.
“Having said that, we are still concerned because it is still more than we would like.
“If people leave rubbish lying around unfortunately that is fuel to someone who could want to come along and set alight to it.
“People can come back from a night out after a few drinks, see a big pile of rubbish and decide to set fire to it.
“Our advice would be to tidy up any rubbish they have, not to leave their bins overflowing and not to leave bins open, particularly when they are standing up against the wall of a property.”