ARSONISTS started a blaze which destroyed a Scout hut in
Horsham yesterday.
The wooden building in Higgins Way, by Bennetts Field, was used by the 5th Horsham Scouts to store equipment worth around £4,000.
Police say the fire was started deliberately at about 4.45pm.
Firefighters found a camping gas cylinder in the hut, which could have injured anyone walking nearby if it had exploded.
The hut, worth £5,000, is next to the Scouts' meeting place, which escaped the blaze.
Horsham and Weald Scouts
District Commissioner, John Yarlett, there had been several vandalism attacks on the store, which contained a trailer, lawn mower and tools.
He said: "We have had windows smashed and youths have tried to disrupt meetings by running in and throwing eggs and stones.
"I don't think this is a hate
campaign. Scouts are a sitting
target. They are regarded as
do-gooders and a bit of an anachronism."
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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