Residents living in East Cowes, where a number of arson attacks have led to vehicles being destroyed, have discussed their concerns with Police, firefighters and local council officials at a special joint agency event.
Last night (Thursday) Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary came together with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and the Isle of Wight Council to hold a drop-in event outside Waitrose.
This street meet allowed those living in the area to talk to the local Police team, ask questions about the ongoing investigation and raise concerns with the local authorities.
Confidence in policing is low in East Cowes at the moment following a spate of arson attacks that have damaged no less than 7 vehicles in York Avenue, Kent Avenue, Victoria Grove and Mayfield Road. The perpetrator – or perpetrators – are yet to be caught, meaning an arsonist is on the loose.
But Sergeant Matthew James says lots is going on behind the scenes in a bid to catch the person, or persons, responsible and he reassures residents that Police are taking this series of arson attacks seriously.
Speaking to Island Echo, Sgt James said that he hopes to receive feedback from residents about what they have seen, which might just be the piece of the puzzle that is missing.
He said:
“I want to encourage people to just be curious and if they spot something unusual or out of place, perhaps an individual acting suspiciously, to get in touch.
“It’s my job to protect people and their property and I’d like to reassure residents that we are taking this seriously”.
The 1st incident in this spate of attacks occurred on 10th December last year when a curtain-side van parked on York Avenue went up in flames. Then, just 10 days later, an Islandwide Carpets van was destroyed with damage also caused to a Vauxhall Astra van.
On 22nd January, fire crews were called to Victoria Grove when an Isle of Wight Distribution van was set on fire. Just minutes later, a campervan parked on Kent Avenue was also reported to be well alight.
The most recent incident occurred on York Avenue on Friday 17th February when attempts were made to set alight a white van belonging to ADT, as previously reported by Island Echo. An 18-year-old man from Sandown was arrested but has since been eliminated from enquiries.
In addition, officers are looking into whether or not a fire on York Avenue on 14th July last year is connected to this spate of arson attacks.
Speaking last week, Inspector Andy McDonald said:
“Officers have been, and will continue to be following up enquiries in the area, including scoping for CCTV and doorbell camera footage, as well as conducting proactive patrols.
“Every line of enquiry available to us will be pursued and we are keeping an open mind as to what the exact motive of these offences is and who is responsible.
“We hear the concerns of the community, and ask people to please not speculate and to ensure all information is provided directly to the police.”
The irony is that this is probably one of the few times East Cowes residents will see police officers on the street.
Police should not be relying on doorbell cameras.
As technology is so cheap now, Police should have hidden mobile cameras set up in many streets now to catch criminals and / or speeding drivers.
The old ‘film’ type camera is dead, now live images, with millions of images can be stored with little cost. It is dire that they have to rely on some fuzzy doorbell image of someones postman or cat to rely on catching an arsonist.
Vans should be parked in streets with hidden cameras installed.
BUT as we all know the prisons are full of the third world, so NO meaningful sentence will be given IF they do catch the culprit, so no will for Police to ‘bother’ now.
Other than the people who’s vehicles were attacked nobody in East Cowes cares lol. i bet no one would have turned up if they hadn’t set up outside waitrose catching people entering/leaving the shop