A man whose car was burnt out in a suspected arson attack has recalled how firefighters told him ‘get out the house!’ as flames spread.
Residents on Beechfield in Newton Aycliffe recalled seeing ‘flames everywhere’ after two cars and a bungalow were set alight just before 11pm on Monday, March 3.
An elderly couple and their neighbour, 70-year-old Brian Wade, were told to escape their homes by firefighters battling the flames. An arson investigation is underway.
Brian said: “I was sitting using my computer and heard a pop, not very loud, and just had this awful feeling. I opened the living room door and could see the glow through my front door and both cars were on fire.
“I called the fire brigade and they told me to, ‘get out the house!’.”
His 18-plate Citroen and neighbours’ car were both ruined and the couple have had to move out due to the damage.
“Next door are lovely people,” he said. “They’re lovely neighbours, we’ve been here three years and they’re lovely people to have next door.
“It’s quite a quiet little street. I don’t know why their house was targeted.
“I didn’t get back into the house until about 2am/3am. The people across the road took me in there.
“It was frightening. It really sunk in later in terms of what happened and what could have happened. Luckily, I wasn’t in bed and my wife’s in a care home.”
Pictures from the scene on Tuesday, March 4, show the burnt-out wreckage of cars and the charred bungalow boarded up.
A Durham Police spokesperson said: “Officers believe the fire was started deliberately and are treating the incident as arson. An investigation has been launched and officers would like to speak to anyone with information that could assist their enquiries.”
The fire service said one crew from Darlington and another from Newton Aycliffe attended and left the scene at just after 12.50am.
Neighbour Trevor Adamson recalled seeing ‘flames everywhere’ when he looked out his window opposite the bungalows.
He said: “I looked out the window and there it was, flames everywhere.
“The fire brigade got here really quickly. It was horrendous, you don’t see stuff like this around here.”
Katrina Gallagher added: “The bairn shouted for her dad because her bedroom is at the front and heard it. My partner came downstairs and opened the door and saw the car was alight.
“We had a police officer come to the door last night to ask if we’d seen anything.”
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Paramedics attended and checked over the woman whose house was on fire.
A spokesperson for North East Ambulance Service added: “We dispatched a clinical team leader and a double crewed ambulance. One patient was treated at the scene, but refused to be taken to hospital.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting incident number 461 of March 3, or contact them online at www.durham.police.uk. Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers.
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