Two more held in murder bid blaze inquiry

TWO more arrests have been made after a Southport woman suffered burns which left her fighting for her life on Boxing Day.

Thea 38-year-old had severe burns on her hands, arm and neck after a fire in a flat in Derby Road.

On Monday, a 21-yearold man and a 29-year-old woman were arrested in Aughton Road on suspicion of attempted murder and have since been under investigation.

The latest arrests bring the total so far to seven.

They came after officers were deployed in Southport and Bootle as part of Operation Target, a crackdown on organised and violent crime.

Uniformed and plain clothed officers were briefed at 3pm before taking to the streets to use a variety of tactics, resources and powers to tackle anti-social behaviour and other criminality in the area.

During the afternoon and evening, officers carried out 36 stop searches in Sefton, including in Albert Road and Booth Street in Southport.

A man was arrested in Booth Street on suspicion of drugs offences.

Ch Insp Steve Brizell said “These deployments happen as a direct result from information and concerns that you have shared with us.

“In an evaluation survey issued on our social media accounts, we asked you questions including: are there key locations you would like us to target? And you said where so that is where we went.

“These locations included areas in Southport, Netherton and Bootle including parks, alleyways and housing estates.

“We want to do all we can to keep you safe and we will continue carrying out these deployments on a regular basis to ensure those involved in crime are taken off our streets and our communities can live peacefully and free from fear.”