[from the press scum...]

Police have been targeting the firestarters who have been operating in the Arbury, King’s Hedges and Chesterton areas.

Residents at a meeting of the city council’s north area committee set tackling the danger as a priority in April.

Since then, five young people have been cautioned for arson and nine were sent to Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Fire Setters Engagement Scheme. Two young girls will be dealt with through the ‘fire setters’ scheme at their school.

In one incident in March this year a hooded cyclist set fire to a bin near the front door of an end-terrace home in Apollo Way, King’s Hedges.

Janet Filby, a mother-of-two who lives in the street, said: “My bin was in my shed and it was totally melted and stuck to the ground. You can still see the marks. I have moved my bins next to my front door because I keep my bikes in the shed now. It is a worry if someone sets it on fire.”

Sgt Jason Wragg’s neighbourhood policing team have been targeting the arsonists.

He told the News: “This behaviour causes a great deal of disquiet within the community. What often starts as attention-seeking clearly threatens to end in tragedy.”

A report by Sgt Wragg for the north area committee said officers had visited the parents of several other youngsters linked with the fires.

He said the number of fires has “reduced significantly however they do continue”.

A fire service spokesman said: “While there is no excuse for arson, homeowners can help to reduce the temptation for potential arsonists by keeping bins and flammable rubbish out of sight and secure if possible.”

The service has been called to seven deliberate wheelie bin fires in the north Cambridge area since May and two loose rubbish fires.

The streets affected included High Street, East Chesterton, Campkin Road and Arbury Road in King’s Hedges, and Cherry Hinton Road.

Last year, the service visited 35 young people in Cambridgeshire under the ‘fire setters’ scheme.

Sgt Wragg has also reported an outbreak of deliberate fires along the A14 embankment in Fen Road that destroyed property on farms and sent smoke billowing across the road.

[SPREAD THE FIRES / ARM YOUR DESIRES / SMASH SOCIAL PASSIVITY]