Arson probe into one million pound blaze

THE FINAL bill for Sunday's massive fire could come close to 1million.

The blaze at the Wainwright Road lorry park destroyed two articulated lorries and damaged a third lorry and two cars.

It melted about 4,000 plastic wheelie bins and 9,000 boxes being stored ahead of Rother council's recycling project

And it destroyed the headquarters of the 9th Bexhill Scouts, complete with its 80-year archive exhibition.

Police and fire investigators immediately launched an arson enquiry.

Householders in Reginald Road whose homes overlook the car park had to be roused from their beds and led to safety as gas cylinders in the lorries exploded. Police cordoned off Reginald Road, Wainwright Road and Beeching Road as 10 fire crews tackled the blaze.

The emergency services received about fifty 999 calls.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered to watch the drama unfold.

The glow could be seen from a mile away as towering flames from the huge stack of plastic bins, from the Scout HQ and from the lorries' fuel tanks lit up the sky. Topping the flames was a colossal column of dense black smoke.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue and police immediately started an investigation into the cause of the blaze.

Inspector Martin Mann said: "This was deliberate - not accidental."

The task of "trawling" through CCTV material of the area has begun and police are looking for evidence of people in the area. Inspector Mann thought the fire had caused "Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage. Just to clear up is going to be expensive, and there were two HGV lorries damaged, plus a car transporter which had two vehicles which were damaged.

"We are talking about a hell of a lot of damage, especially with the Scout hut. We are concerned about the impact this is going to have on the local Scout movement. I am sure it is causing them a lot of distress, and we are asking anyone to come forward who has got any information at all or is responsible for such a mindless act, as dangerous as this was. Lives were put at risk.

"With terrace houses so close to the site of the fire, this could have been far more serious that it was and lives could have been lost. We want people to know how bad it was."

Fire crews from Bexhill, Hastings, Battle, Broad Oak and Pevensey under the direction of area manager Derek Masson surrounded the wire-fenced temporary compound and adjacent Scout hq after the alarm was raised at 10.36pm.

They used three hydrants to get enough water to keep the blaze contained and stop it spreading to the garage at the end of Victoria Road.

An aerial ladder platform was used to direct water on to the flames from above.

Because of the danger posed by camping gas cylinders stored in the Scouts' premises and the risk that further cylinders might be on the blazing lorries, drivers removed their trucks from overnight parking bays in the adjoining Rother lorry park.

Buses and coaches from the Renown Coaches depot were also moved.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue, still suffering from specialist vehicle losses in last year's Ringmer fireworks factory tragedy, had to borrow a mobile incident command post from West Sussex.

At the command post at around 1am, Mr Masson told the Observer's John Dowling: "We have had a few cylinders popping off, probably LPG from the lorries."

Homes as far away as Amherst Road were blacked-out as a result of the blaze.

Mr Masson said: "There is a small electricity sub-station on the far side of the car park. We were concerned about it and called EDF. They have shut it down for the moment."