Firefighters from the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service have tackled multiple straw bales that were deliberately set on fire earlier tonight (Sunday).
1 fire appliance and a water carrier from Freshwater Fire Station were mobilised to the incident at Compton car park following a 999 call to fire control.
Straw bales and cones used to close off the entrance to the National Trust car park during the Coronavirus restrictions have been destroyed.
Crews used 2 hose reel jets to extinguish 3 straw bales.
Firefighters have taken to social media to call the arson attack ‘absolute stupidity’. They’ve said:
“This is beyond stupidity, this kind of action during this national crisis puts the community, the environment and the firefighters and their families at risk.
“Please for the sake of your families, your community and your future just stay at home!”
Why are they there for in first place?!? You’re allowed to exercise so why can’t you park in the car park and exercise on beach?!? Don’t see problem….
Yes iv said the same.This council is very strange.
I did fully understand before the drive to exercise.
But im lost now or is it just a case of the norm and will take them a few weeks to click on
The car park like others that are closed are owned by the National Trust not the council and they seem to do what they want.
How dare they!
Your supposed to be walking every where and not driving, too many young people hang out up there too
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/press-release/the-national-trusts-latest-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19
And maybe a cheeky cast or two!!
Teenagers drinking.
Idiots. Arson can carry a life sentence bloody fools.
Yer, blame a minority group of people. Allows you to not deal with the real cause. People not following the rules and thinking they are above the law. And that goes for all ages….. Just need one idiot that thinks that their objection to this is justified and that setting it on fire is the correct coarse of action.
The Island seems to be getting worse. Who in their right mind would do such a stupid thing. I know, a STUPID person! If this is what they do for a laugh, they are truely.sick.
– Perhaps they were making a point.
Don’t know why Stephen got loads of down votes, most likely the reason.
Don’t mind about that Tom.
Just saying it as it is.
Better to do that than just follow heard thinking and not look for reasons/motives.
I should be allowed to reply to Tom’s implication, (Censor keeps removing this).
– Just saying it as it is.
Not just following the herd reaction.
Highlighting causes and motives.
And not reverting to insults and condemnation. (naughty boys are not necessarily evil, just need correction etc).
More Richard Edwards on the Island.
Criminal damage
Pollution
Stay at home
Hope someone saw you
If such is happening here, imagine what is and will occur in inner cities, but, as not PC this will be kept as quite as is possible.
Either the usual low life, or, a protest at beach curfews.
Either way lets hope the culprits are caught, for the token gesture ticking off.
They know other than that, nothing will happen, hence no fear.
This sort need beating, and car crushed, benefits stopped, and turned out of their social housing to then join the other homeless in b and b.
Just sickening. We should follow Poland’s example, where young offenders are conscripted into the Army for some tougher than normal training.
Obviously a protest fire at the beaches being out of bounds to Island people.
A nasty thing to do, but I guess that is what it is all about.
Who said the beaches are out of bounds?
Whilst I don’t condone the actions of those who committed this as act of arson I have to ask why the car park (along with several others) is still closed.
The recent guidance has made it clear that driving somewhere to take exercise IS permitted and closing of open spaces is NOT.
Keeping these car parks closed will merely result in people looking for alternative, less safe, parking arrangements.
In extreme cases it will lead to frustration and, ultimately, mindless acts like this.
The aim is still to stop the spread of the virus through social distancing not incarceration.
– Here here, well said !
Just before this lock down, the National Trust were reported to be over whelmed with visitors to their parks etc, and hence they decided to close the parks and car parks to avoid congestion. I believe these new guide lines were published last Friday, maybe they haven’t got round yet to re open their car parks.
Well said mate!!!
Whilst more than likely a mis placed protest at beach access closure, a selfish and costly act to carry out.
Surely someone has cctv on the road or drive way. Can’t be that many cars about now.
It’s Compton car park! There are no houses or driveways anywhere near it’s on the milly road’
Should be cctv at the Freshwater lifeboat to see who went pass If not l will fundraise with their permission.
All roads needs to be CCTV filmed now, cheap enough and small enough to be hidden easily. Too many private cars delivering drugs around the island, and once numbers auto stored easy to link once caught growing to their contacts.
Not just the unemployed but teachers growing to. Such is the easy money lure and greed.
Needs ending as causing untold misery for the children of these users as parents befuddled minds are not in real world.
This is what the Police should be doing, instead of chasing people off the downs and beaches…
I don’t think we really need the New World Order just to censure a few naff drug dealers.
Rather than scrutinise and monitor the innocent, would it be better to have real deterrents to criminals? As in real sentencing rather than the pathetic non-punishments that we have now??
Absolute scum
FRED brilliant idea but can you imagine the wimpy youngsters we have on island they would all cry if told off
Now that would be a shame. They wouldn’t dare be back for seconds, and it might even turn the scum into half decent human beings
Unbelievably the low life we got on the island
Perhaps they should look into the parents they are clearly allowing their offspring out knowing it’s lockdown surely they must of smelt of bonfires when they eventually got home
They would not smell of fire, hardly going to wait around, drop lighted paper and offski.
There’s always the option of a curfew.
They didn’t need to set fire to them, they could have rolled them onto the beach if it was some kind of protest.
But some protesters are very dangerous people, and don’t care about the consequences..
OBVIOUS surely – that there is not room for cars to park and manoeuvre and for passengers to get in and out whilst keep their social distance. Just do what you are told and we will get through this – act like morons and we will still be like this at Christmas and beyond.
Exactly. They closed the char parks after Mother’s Day because everyone decided to go and walk and fill up all the car parks as it was a nice day. Never mind the guidance to social distance! Fair weather walkers ruined it for us “day in day out whatever the weather “dog walkers etc who now can’t use the car parks to do our daily duties.
Again a waste of island resources, money, time and danger to others. Needs to have a therapy session or two.
If they ever catch the lowlifes they should be made to pay the expenses caused and make them clean the ashes up with smallest dustpan and brush available
Absolutely no excuse, end of !!! While firemen are putting that out someone else could be losing their lives in a fire.
Looks like someone did not agree with the restriction and possibly the general lock down. So thought some how this was justified. The kind of people that will get us all killed, if not from covid 19 then from something else.
– that’s a bit of an exaggeration Tom, but probably are just bored youths – perhaps the same ones who are riding round West Wight all day on their very noisy (bored out exhaust) motorbikes.
There are never stopped, so continue unchecked to annoy everyone, lockdown or not and terrifying my poor dog…
… that’s a bit of an exaggeration Tom, but this may just be bored youths. Perhaps the same ones who continually ride round West Wight on their very noisy motorbikes with bored out exhausts, annoying everyone and terrifying my poor dog …
– Has been going on for years unchecked.
Stupid, Just roll them aside.
They weigh about a ton.