Police are investigating two arson attacks that took place within minutes of each other in Brightlingsea in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A Volkswagen Golf parked in Queen Street and a Toyota Aygo in nearby Spring Road were set alight just after midnight. A Ford Fiesta parked near the Toyota also suffered fire damage. Firefighters attended and dealt with the blazes.
Firefighters tackle the blaze in Queen Street – picture by Sydney Sherman
While police were on the scene, they were that told another car parked in Spring Road had been entered and searched. Nothing was believed to have been stolen. Reports on local social media suggest that other vehicles may have been broken on the same night.
Two weeks ago a car was burned out in another attack in Well Street, and images of an individual trying car doors in the area were captured by a resident’s CCTV.
This car was burned out two weeks ago in Well St – picture by Dean Third
Essex Police told Brightlingsea Info: “We are continuing to investigate and are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area between 11.30pm on Friday 17 September and 12.30am on Saturday and saw anyone acting suspiciously, or has CCTV, doorbell or dash cam footage covering that time period. We also ask residents to be vigilant and to double check their vehicles are locked and any items of value are removed or out of sight.”
Anyone with information can submit a report online at https://www.essex.police.uk or use the ‘Live Chat’ button on the site to speak to an online operator between 7am-11pm. Alternatively, call 101.
Quote reference 42/200800/21 when contacting the police about the incidents.
