Car crashed and set ablaze in arson attack on Sheffield estate

The Kia car was deliberately set on fire at 10.05pm on Holgate Avenue, Parson Cross, last night with emergency services called out to deal with the blaze.

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Firefighters from Elm Lane fire station were sent to the incident. They were on the scene fighting the fire for around half an hour.

Police said they were called out to reports that a vehicle had crashed before being set alight in Holgate Avenue.

“An investigation is now underway,” said a spokesman.

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It was one of two arson attacks in the city which firefighters were called to last night. The other involved two wheelie bins which were deliberately set on fire at 10.55pm on Division Street, in the city centre, which was put out by a crew from Sheffield Central fire station.

And a further arson incident happened in neighbouring Rotherham, where firefighters were called out to a deliberate fire involving a number of car tyres at 6.30am this morning on Robinets Road, Wingfield.

The number of arson incidents across South Yorkshire has fallen this summer, but firefighters are still calling on the public to report any information they have about people causing deliberate fires.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said recently it had attended 997 deliberate fire incidents across May, June and July this year, which was a seven per cent reduction compared to the 1,073 attended during the same period last year.

Against the average for May, June and July across the last three years – which stands at 1,404 incidents – the reduction is actually 29 percent.

Firefighters are still calling on the public to be vigilant and in particular, is urging people to report anything they know about deliberate fire-setting via their FireStoppers service, which was launched earlier this year.

Group Manager Matt Gillatt, deputy head of the joint police and fire community safety team, said: “Deliberate fire-setting not only endangers life and wastes our time, it can also massively destroy local parks, facilities and landscapes, so I would really encourage people to keep using our FireStoppers service to help us help you.”

You can report information about deliberate fire-setting to FireStoppers, anonymously, by calling 0800 169 5558 or visiting firestoppersreport.co.uk.

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