A schoolgirl suffered "nightmares" after seeing a friend’s fence catch fire following persistent arson attacks at an abandoned building site.
Last month, the site on Trinity Street in Runcorn was hit by three incidents alone, with seven deliberate blazes attended by emergency services since August and nine in total in the same short road. Two parents have contacted the ECHO to share details of how the site is causing physical and emotional harm.
One mother, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said her young daughter, aged 11 and who lives with autism, has been left suffering "nightmares" after seeing her friend’s garden fence catch fire following one of the blazes.
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To compound her trauma, she became stuck outside a cordon and not knowing where to go and remaining “scared”. Another parent, Elysha Doran, said her baby son, aged one, has breathing difficulties whenever there’s a fire.
She told the ECHO: "It’s an absolute joke.
"Also the fact my little boy is one and every time this goes up on fire he ends up in hospital struggling to breathe on inhalers and having chest X-rays."
Elysha said she spent "a lot of money" on her garden, only for the back fence to catch fire.
She now fears their house will one day “go up” too.
Elysha said: "It’s an absolute disgrace, the fact that it set my garden on fire and fence panels and I have to run out (of) my own home every week with my two children."
Following the ECHO’s report in April, one social media fumed: "How many times does this have to happen?
"Get building control involved and knock it down.
"Poor residents, on pins waiting for it to happen again."
The abandoned building site has been branded a "nuisance" by a Halton fire chief and Halton Borough Council, and the town’s police chief inspector branded arsonists’ actions “mindless”, but the authorities have hit an apparent impasse over finding a long-term solution, and the property remains in limbo.
A spokesperson for Halton Borough Council branded the site a "serious nuisance".
She told the ECHO: "We have visited this site, which is surrounded by a sturdy metal perimeter fence, on numerous occasions to make it as safe and secure as possible.
"However, these incidents continue to occur.
"The council has very limited powers until the custodians of the site decide to dispose of it.
"The council’s legal team has approached them on several occasions to try and make some progress.
"We are working closely with our partners in the fire service and the police to try and resolve this situation which has become a serious nuisance in that area."
A Salford-based developer bought the site in 2017 for £85,000 according to Land Registry documents, only to fold via compulsory strike-off in 2019.
Ownership is now reported to have passed to the Duchy of Lancaster, which describes itself as a "a private estate owned by His Majesty The King, as Duke of Lancaster".
A Duchy of Lancaster spokesperson said it was unable to comment and suggested directing enquiries to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The ECHO contacted the CPS for comment on Thursday, April 27, with the enquiry confirmed as receiving attention but no response at time of writing by Tuesday afternoon.
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