Arson probe

A man has been charged with arson with intent to endanger life after a house fire in a village.

Officers were called to Downs Way in Charing following the blaze at 5.40pm last Tuesday.

They arrested two men shortly after the incident and a third man was detained at about 1am the following morning.

Two fire engines were sent to the scene and nobody at the property was injured, but an officer later required hospital treatment for injuries sustained during one of the arrests. He has since been discharged.

Michael Bumstead, of Dengemarsh Road, Romney Marsh, has been charged with arson with intent to endanger life, attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, making a threat to kill and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker.

The 21-year-old appeared before Folkestone Magistrates’ Court last Thursday and was remanded in custody to appear at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday, January 11.

A 22-year-old man and an 18-year-old man, both from the Ashford area, have been bailed until Tuesday, January 5.

In a separate incident, fire crews extinguished an aggressive blaze after a caravan went up in flames.

The mobile home was in a layby on the A28 near Bethersden.

Two fire engines were sent out to the scene just before 6pm last Thursday.

No injuries were reported and the cause is not yet known.