FOUR VEHICLES ARE DESTROYED IN ARSON ATTACK AT PUB
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS IN ONE CAR ALSO LOST TO THE BLAZE
A £50,000 car and all the Christmas presents in it were among four vehicles destroyed in an “arson attack” outside a pub.
Sandy Foster, 55, kept the vehicle on the car park at the Bluebell pub, in Desford, with the permission of the landlord.
She said the blaze, at 3.45am on Saturday, was started deliberately by a man pouring petrol over the landlord’s van.
The fire then spread to another van and also damaged two cars, writing off all four vehicles.
Sandy said: “I was woken at 5am when the police knocked on my door but I understand a lot of people were woken by the flames, which were very high. There were a lot of explosions, too.
“I’m told by the landlord the CCTV clearly shows a young man cross the road, pour petrol over his van and set it on fire. My car was a new £50,000 Peugeot and I had my Christmas presents inside as well.
“It’s insured, thankfully. It’s going to make life very hard, though, because I have a day nursery in Leicester and my husband works in the opposite direction so I needed the car to get to work.”
She said the landlord had informed her the arsonist was probably not identifiable from the CCTV footage.
She said: “He was wearing a hoodie and you can’t see his face. But he’s clearly on a mission and knows what he wants to do.
“The landlord has no idea why anyone would want to do it, though. The pub hasn’t even been open recently.”
The fire service confirmed the blaze is believed to have been arson.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact police on 101.
A FAMILY holiday in Blackpool went downhill fast after an argument with hotel staff over their booking.
Stefan Stafford, from Leicester, and up to 15 members of his family believed they had reserved three rooms at the resort’s famous Grand Hotel in August, but arrived to find the booking had not been wholly fulfilled, Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard.
A member of staff called police after 27-year-old Stafford’s behaviour deteriorated and he became “aggressive”, prosecutor Neil Hollett said.
Stafford, of Brooksby Road, off Saffron Lane, left before officers arrived at the scene, Mr Hollett told the hearing.
“Police were called to a report of a male causing a disturbance and being aggressive at the Grand Hotel,” he said, adding that the incident happened near midnight on August 15.
“When officers arrived, it appeared the man had left by a back door,” he said.
The officers spoke to hotel staff to get a description of Stafford and went in search of him, Mr Hollett said. They had also received a report of a van being driven without its lights on and were able to establish the vehicle belonged to Stafford.
Eventually, officers found the defendant running down the street and chased him for a short distance before detaining him as he tried to climb over a wall.
His van was found nearby with its keys on the pavement next to it.
He was detained on suspicion of drink-driving.
Mr Hollett said: “He was arrested without a roadside test being taken and refused to provide a sample of breath when he was taken into custody.”
Stafford’s solicitor, Roshni Modi, told the court: “He has explained he was in Blackpool on a family holiday.
“He was there with approximately 15 members of his family.
“There was some involvement with alcohol, but he explains he was not extremely intoxicated and suggests he’d had a few pints.
“He says he was unaware failing to provide a specimen was an offence and he had wanted advice before providing one.”
Stafford admitted a single charge of failing to provide a breath specimen to police for analysis.
Magistrates banned him from driving for 12 months and ordered him to carry out 80 hours of unpaid community work.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and victims surcharge of £95.