Prime suspect hunted in Whitehawk fire investigation (From The Argus)

Prime suspect hunted in Whitehawk fire investigation

2:02pm Monday 17th September 2012 in News

Sussex Police are hunting a prime suspect thought to be behind a spate of fires in Whitehawk this weekend.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, cars, motorcycles and a caravan were torched in a night of arsons . In all ten fires were set.

No-one was injured. Yesterday, Sussex Police said they were searching for one person, but no arrests had been made.

Jo Balmer, 38, of Sompting Close said her adapted Renault Kangoo was a lifeline for her brain-damaged son, Saul, ten.

She had to cancel a trip to a special play area at Brooklands Pleasure Park in Worthing, and a trip to see relatives, because the car was burnt out.

She said: “It makes you feel really exposed. You think ‘are they going to come back?’.”

Patrick White, 61, of Pett Close, had borrowed a caravan from a friend to take his family to France.

The mobile home was a charred wreck on Sunday morning. He said: “It makes you feel sick.”

Another car was torched on a driveway in Plaistow Close, with the flames spreading to a fence and charring a van which contained gas bottles.

Firefighters were first called at 2am on Saturday, when a motorcycle was torched in Limney Road.

The heat of the blaze smashed the windows of the owner’s home.

Firefighters from Roedean Community Fire Station said an unsuccessful attempt was also made to set a car nearby alight.

At about 4am fire crews were called to the caravan fire in Pett Close and they discovered the Sompting Close fire while on their way there.

Sussex Police have confirmed they are treating the blazes as arsons.

Officers were calling at people's homes to gather information on Saturday. They were also gathering CCTV footage believed to show a hooded figure lighting a fire.

Anyone with information about the fires is asked to call Sussex Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.