Avon and Somerset Police have released CCTV footage following a series of arson attacks on vehicles in South Gloucestershire over the weekend. Police say that 25 vehicles appear to have been indiscriminately targeted at seven locations in the Bradley Stoke/Stoke Gifford area during the early hours of Sunday (April 3), causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.
A number of charity minibuses were destroyed in the attack, which were relied upon by vulnerable members of the community. Officers have already gathered several hours of police footage as part of their investigation and members of the public have also handed in their own footage.
In an initial review of the footage two people, believed to be teenage boys or young men, have caught the attention of the police, and they would like to speak with them.
Read more: Rolls Royce Filton attack: 'E-scooter' arsonist torched vital community minibuses
Offenders set fire to the first vehicle at 1:09am on New Road in the early hours of Sunday (April 3), before heading north where they carried out further attacks on Gatcombe Road at 1:33am and then on Sandringham Road at 1:47am.
Nearly three quarters of an hour later, at 2.30am, they targeted vehicles parked at the Jubilee Centre on Savages Wood Road before doubling back to Little Stoke playing fields where they set more vehicles on fire at 3.09am.
The arsonists are then believed to have headed west to a car park behind the Rolls Royce site on Gipsy Patch Lane where they destroyed 16 minibuses before police say they most likely retraced their steps to set fire to a vehicle on Sherbourne Avenue.
Vehicle owners for all but three of those targeted have been identified – with a Mini and two minibuses too badly damaged to trace their owners. A team of detectives are investigating the incident with support from colleagues across the organisation including specialist crime scene investigators.
Detective Inspector Will Thorpe said: “While we’re still in the early stages of the investigation we’ve already made significant progress. Dozens of hours of footage from public and private CCTV and doorbell cameras has been gathered and continues to be reviewed.
“We remain open-minded about the motive for these attacks but from the enquiries we’ve carried out to date, we don’t believe the offenders have specifically targeted particular vehicles. The majority of the vehicles destroyed belonged to charities and it is hard to imagine that had the offenders known this, they would have deliberately set them on fire.
“All the victims have been significantly inconvenienced by this shameful crime spree and we are committed to finding those responsible. We continue to appeal for local residents in the area to check any camera footage they may have from the early hours of Sunday, in particular between 1am and 4.40am when the offenders may have walked past.
“We’re also still keen to hear from any motorists with dash camera footage who may have driven through the area as well as anyone who witnessed two people acting suspiciously.”
Police are asking anyone who may be able to help to call 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5222078490, or complete the online appeals form here.
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their anonymous online form here.
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