FIRE spread, destroying three sheds on Wooda Lane, Launceston, on Thursday, June 1 — including Cornwall Councillor Jade Farrington’s shed, where it is believed the blaze originated, writes Zoë Uglow.

Two fire appliances from Launceston carrying ten firefighters attended the call and were told a fence was alight and had spread to a shed.

The shed was part of Cllr Farrington’s property and had been displaying a Lib Dem sign before it was burnt to the ground.

On crews’ arrival they confirmed that three garden sheds had been completely destroyed by the fire. They used two breathing apparatus and two hose reels to extinguish the fire.

Details of the incident were passed to the Police as the cause of the fire is doubtful.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Police have been informed by the fire service that three sheds have been destroyed by fire near Priory Park, Launceston, last night (June 1).

“Police are investigating this incident and reports of anti-social behaviour in the area, and will be speaking to those affected as a part of our enquiries.”

Cllr Farrington told the Post: “The shed was set on fire at approximately 7.10pm on Thursday evening. Witnesses say they saw teenagers do it. A neighbour, Kim Philp, saw it alight and called 999.

“Her husband Dave is in the Army and fortunately he had come home a day early else he wouldn’t have been there. He was absolutely brilliant and rushed out and got a hosepipe on the fire to try to stop it spreading.

“Another neighbour alerted me, and I moved things away from the shed and got buckets of water with Sue Wonnacott who lives on the other side.”

Cllr Farrington expressed her thanks to all those who helped out during the incidents, especially the fire service, who were able to quickly get to the scene, despite the obstacle of the narrow streets and parked cars on Priory Park Road.

She said if fire crews had been held up any longer there was a possibility the fire could have spread to nearby trees, dry from the recent hot weather, which could have caused a much larger incident.

She said: “The fire service were excellent and got there as quickly as they could. They stopped the fire reaching the large trees, which border the park and have power lines running through them. If the fire had reached those trees when all the wood was so dry it could have been absolutely horrendous and spread right round all the properties on that side of the park.

“The fire brigade had difficulty getting down Priory Park Road because of all the parked vehicles. The neighbourhood was built before people had cars so unfortunately there’s a severe lack of parking and most people don’t have driveways.

“There’s no public car park down here so there’s little alternative but to park on the street, and in situations like this that does cause a big problem. I understand that the fire brigade will shunt vehicles out of the way if that’s what they have to do, but fortunately they managed to get through.”

Cllr Farrington said it was ‘heartbreaking’ to see the effects of the fire, especially on the young children who live nearby.

She said: “I have no idea what was going through the heads of the people who did this, or what their intention was. They’ve caused three families a lot of pain, heartache and financial loss, as well as making countless others worried for their safety. We’re down in the valley so people could see the fire across a large part of the town.

“I very much hope the police are able to catch up with the culprits before they do this to anyone else. It was heartbreaking seeing the young children next door crying and screaming because they were terrified their dad would die as he tackled the fire. No child should ever be put through that.”

l Anyone with information that can assist police with their enquiries are asked to call 101 or email [email protected] quoting log number 915 for Thursday, June 1.