Three teenagers will appear in court one year after a devastating fire destroyed a large patch of marshland.
Emergency services rushed to the marshland in Parkgate, near Neston, Wirral shortly before 6.30pm on Saturday, March 19 last year, as thick black smoke was sent billowing across the area. Crowds gathered on The Parade in Parkgate, an area that is popular with walkers and tourists, to watch the fire as it raged on into the evening.
At the height of the fire, which covered 500 square metres of marshland, six fire crews from Cheshire and Merseyside were at the scene. A police helicopter was sent out to monitor the direction the blaze was spreading in as the wind continued to blow the flames further. Firefighters used fire breaks to protect the homes of residents who lived nearby.
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Just hours after the blaze began Cheshire Police said they were treating the incident as arson. By Monday afternoon police said they had arrested three teenage boys.
Cheshire Police have now said three teenage boys, one 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds, have been summoned to appear in West Cheshire Youth Court on April 5. The boy's can't be named for legal reasons.
A spokesperson from Cheshire Police said: "Three teenagers have been summonsed to court to face charges of arson and damaging a site of special scientific interest without notice. The three boys, one aged 14 and two aged 15 will appear at West Cheshire Youth Court on April 5.
"They cannot be named for legal reasons. The case relates to a fire on marshland in Parkgate near Neston on March 19, 2022."
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