Wheelie bins in Lewes set alight for second time in a year

Sam and Simon Hull woke up in the early hours of the morning to a blaze in the lane below their bedroom window in Broomans Lane, Lewes.

An elderly neighbour had rung their doorbell to alert them.

"My husband looked out the window, wondering who was ringing at this time of night, and saw the fire," said Sam, aged 53.

"It was only in the lane so, you can see in pictures, it was really close to the house. I was so disorientated, I was frantically trying to open the blinds."

The couple then phoned the fire brigade who urged them to remain in the house while they tackled the blaze.

Both the landfill and the recycling bins had been set alight and black smoke was billowing from them.

Sam, a recovery worker, described how the smoke had entered the bedroom window on the ground floor.

She said she was grateful no one had been in there.

"If no one had knocked on the door and someone was in the room, they could have possibly died from the fumes. It's so scary to think.

"Sometimes my parents stay down there or my son does. I'm so glad there was no one there."

The following morning Sam ventured up the road to see if anyone else's bins had been burned and they had not.

She said that she does not know anyone that would target them specifically.

"I've only lived in Lewes for two years I hardly know anyone, let alone anyone who would want to do this on purpose," she added.

The pavement and the 6ft wall that runs along the lane is now blackened by the fire.

She has now had to begin moving her bins to the high street for fear of another attack.

Last week's fire, Tuesday August 17, was the second time that Sam's bins have been set alight in the past year.

The first incident occurred in August 2020, the bins had been up against her house rather than the lane wall.

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Her pathway had to be repaired due to the molten plastic on the ground.

She said that there was also broken glass sticking up from the plastic which made it even more dangerous.

"Because we didn't have any CCTV or anything, the police said they couldn't help us last time. So when it happened again I just emailed them but I still haven't had a response."

She was informed by police that a group of young people had been thought to have set a car and another bin on fire at around the same time.

"Last year they said that it was probably kids with nothing better to do in lockdown but this time it feels like a one off. They do it with poles, which they must set alight and shove in the bin."

Sam, accompanied by some nearby builders, cleaned up the rubbish and glass that was left down the lane.

The black marks up the wall are yet to be cleaned, she was informed by East Sussex Fire and Rescue that members of the council's highway team will be dealing with it.

A fire service spokesman said they attended the scene and found two wheelie bins alight outside the  property, which they extinguished.