Kentish Express Ashford & District
Arson suspected as fire badly damages bungalow
Neighbour: ‘The smoke damage has come through to us as well’
Police have appealed f or witnesses after a suspected arson led to a fire outside a bungalow that then spread to neighbouring properties.
Fire service night watch crews from Ashford station were called to Goldwell Close, off Goldwell Lane in Aldington just before 2.30am on Friday.
A fire crew from the village station was already battling the flames at the unoccupied bungalow, where the fire is believed to have spread from a wheelie bin which was moved up against the property.
A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the fire spread from the roof into the kitchen of the bungalow, and said the two neighbouring properties suffered smoke damage.
Neighbour Bert Cotton said he was alerted after his fire alarms and carbon monoxide alarms went off.
He said: “It was a dramatic night and the damage is pretty bad. All the tiles have gone from the roof. I heard a fireman coming to put the fire out. It appears that the wheelie bin has been moved from the bottom of the back garden up to the back door of the house then set alight.”
Mr Cotton, who suffers from diabetes, was treated by paramedics at the scene after smoke from the fire spread to the neighbouring properties.
His wife Judy said the bungalow involved was unoccupied, but a lady who had been hoping to move in within the next few days had arrived to see the damage.
She said: “She was so bad that we might have to get her a doctor for the shock. We are all shocked, my house is completely black because the smoke damage has come through to us as well.”
Police were also called, and officers are now investigating the circumstances of the blaze. A spokesman said the fire is being treated as suspicious.
Anyone with information is asked to call Kent Police on 01843 222289 and quote crime reference ZY/030800/16