A ‘devastated' mother-of-four has told of her 'anguish' at her car being torched by thugs. The blaze came as part of a suspected arson spree in the area of Erdington, Birmingham on Thursday May 4.
Carlene Behan, who was in the first year of becoming a new driver, was shocked as her Peugeot 207 was broken in to and the arsonists lit a can of lighter gas and threw it in the glove compartment before walking away casually from the fire, reports BirminghamLive.
The incident, which occurred on Jaffray Road, is believed to be part of a spree of fires with the pair in question being seen on CCTV torching a vehicle at a nearby junction while a mattress was set ablaze, with the fire spreading to two homes and another car, on a street close by.
The woman says it was her neighbour who alerted her to the fire and says the vehicle is now a complete 'write-off'. She told BirminghamLive: “I woke up in a state of shock. My neighbour was banging down my door. He said: ‘Carlene, your car’s on fire’.
“They broke into my Peugeot 207, threw a lighter gas can into the glove compartment and set it alight. They walked away - they didn’t run.
“My car was set alight at 3.21am, according to CCTV. You see them coming back at 3.40am. They set fire to bins and a skip too. I was awoken just after.
“They then broke into and set alight another car, a Ford, at the car valeting car park in Gravelly Hill and a house in Hillaries Road. The fire service put the fire out.
“Nothing was taken from my car. But car seats and a pushchair were inside. The car’s a write-off. The whole inside is burnt.
“On the footage you can see they have got their phone out and recorded it. Are they getting a kick out of it? I think the people responsible went to the BP garage in Gravelly Hill North. I have had nothing back from the police. They asked me for better CCTV.”
The mum to four kids says her children have also been negatively impacted by the incident as she added: “I’m devastated. I haven’t slept much. We are in a cost-of-living crisis right now. People work hard for what they have. I scrimped and saved for that car, for the kids.
“My kids are scared especially. I have explained to the older one but my 12 and four-year-old are heartbroken. My little girl said ‘are the bad men going to come back. Why have they burnt our car’. I have only just passed my test to drive – last October. And I saved up for my car for nearly two years.”
West Midlands Fire Service confirmed it was called at 3.56am on Thursday to the Jaffray Road residence to a car and skip fire. It was then alerted to a mattress on fire in Hillaries Road later at 4.15am. Police in the West Midlands are also investigating the suspected string of arsons.
A spokesman said: “We received reports of a car being set on a fire at a property on Jaffray Road, Erdington, at around 4.30am on Thursday, May 4.
“We are also investigating after a fire was started at an address in Hillaries Road, Erdington, at around 5am the same morning, which caused damage to the front of the property. A car and fencing at neighbouring properties have also been damaged by fire. The fires are being treated as arson.
“Our enquiries are continuing to establish the circumstances surrounding the fires. Anyone with information about the Hillaries Road fire should contact us via LiveChat on our website or by calling 101 quoting crime 20/370540/23.”
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