Two arrested over Stoke-on-Trent grass fire that damaged four homes
A 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, both from Stoke-on-Trent, have been arrested on suspicion of arson after a grass fire which damaged four homes in the city, Staffordshire Police said.
The force said the arrests were in relation to a grass fire at around 4.15pm on Thursday at the back of Maureen Avenue, Goldenhill, which spread quickly.
Four homes were affected, alongside a number of gardens, the force said, but fire crews have since brought the blaze under control.
The force said inquiries have “progressed at pace” and the man and woman, both from Stoke-on-Trent, were arrested on Friday morning.
It comes as a total of 54 people have been treated by paramedics, including 19 who were admitted to hospital, after wildfires broke out across the West Midlands, the region’s ambulance service said.
Detective Inspector Emma Kempson said: “We are continuing to work at pace to investigate the circumstances surrounding yesterday’s fire, which has culminated in the arrests today.
"Goldenhill Community Centre on Drummond Street was set up to provide support to evacuated individuals and others affected. We’re now working alongside Stoke-on-Trent City Council and have moved the location to Goldenhill Working Men’s Club on Mobberley Road.
“We’ve still got a number of officers in the area today and I can assure the local community we are actively working to investigate this surge in recent fires across Staffordshire.”
The blazes led to thousands of 999 calls on Thursday, the UK’s hottest day of the year, a fire chief said.
In an update on Friday morning, West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had attended “a number of serious fires” across the region “as hot and dry conditions continue”.
It added that crews were “making progress” and “tactically working across several different areas of the site”.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue service said six firefighters had been taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion after battling blazes across the county on Thursday night.
The Government has now issued a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbeques as they pose a “significant risk to the public” due to the heatwave conditions, according to advice published online.
The single-use grills “have been the cause of a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months”, advice published online by the Government said.
It added: “Disposable barbecues cannot be considered a safe product in the context of the ongoing weather and environmental conditions and must not be made available for sale either in store or online at the current time.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham had suggested earlier in the week that such a measure could be introduced.
The Met Office said 38.1C was recorded at Kew Gardens in London on Thursday – the second time this year the country has seen temperatures reach 38C.
In neighbouring Worcestershire, Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said several homes had been damaged and 30 properties were evacuated in Pershore following a large fire on Lancelott Court.
Elsewhere in the region, smoke from nearby wildfires forced the closure of the M6 northbound between junctions five and six – causing more than two hours of delays.
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