Family reeling after belongings torched

A family have been left reeling after their car was torched and garage severely damaged in a suspected arson attack.

Scott Binge said that he, his fiance and his five children were all sleeping in their Cressfield, South Ashford, home when the attack happened, completely torching his neighbour’s garage, severely damaging his own lock-up, and destroying his blue Vauxhall Zafira.

Police are continuing to investigate the suspected arson, which happened at 3am on Monday, October 18.

Mr Binge said: “I’m still not sure myself exactly what happened, but there was a mattress and car tyre leaning against the plastic garage door, my car was two feet away from the garage so I believe the mattress was set alight and the fire just spread.

“I only became aware of the damage when I went to do the school run because I’m such a deep sleeper. My fiancé was woken up by a few bangs but didn’t wake me as she didn’t want me to go down there.

“We are now completely stuck now as the insurance won’t pay out as they say my excess is higher than the car’s worth, and I can’t claim on the excess unless someone is found and

convicted of the crime.”

The 32-year-old, who along with his fiancé welcomed their fifth child just four weeks ago, is now unable to get to work without transport or take their children to school.

Their garage – adjacent to the worst-hit lock-up – was also severely damaged, while numerous belongings in the car including clothes, children’s toys and a new car seat were also destroyed.

“It’s an impossible situation, the school run is hard enough with four kids under 10, plus my eight-year-old daughter

has disabilities and relies on the car to get around,” Mr Binge explained.

“It is terrifying to think how much worse it could have been, the garage backs onto our house so the fire could have easily spread to there.”

The family have launched a GoFundMe to raise cash for a new car to help Mr Binge get back to work and for their children to get to school more easily.

To donate, visit bit.ly/3jBdxh3

Anyone with information should call police on 01843 222289, quoting 46/209459/21.

Many of the family’s belongings were destroyed