The evening of Sunday the 12th of March saw a series of arson attacks in Orton Longueville, Orton Malborne, and the Nene Valley Railway requiring firefighters and volunteer fire teams to deal with the fires.
The appalling behaviour saw fires set from 9.58pm and continuing into the night, seeing a number of cars set alight at multiple locations one of which involved five vehicles which saw the fire spread to a building.
At 12.32am one of Nene Valley Railway's signal boxes at Orton Mere was also hit by the shocking spate of deliberate fires leaving it unusable. Fire crews from Yaxley and the Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade extinguished the fire and were able to leave the scene by 1.30am.
A just giving page has been set up in order to support Nene Valley Railway by two 12-year-old rail enthusiasts who were devastated to hear about the attack on the signal box.
The boys hope to raise as much money as possible in order to support the rebuild of the signal box and get trains back in action on the well-loved heritage railway. To donate please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sarah-walker-788?utm_term=ZyAeGRmge
An investigation is now underway and officers will be undertaking extra patrols in the areas affected by the attacks and are appealing for information regarding the series of arson attacks.
Anyone with information is asked to call 101 and quote Operation Onward or report online.
Information can be given anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555111, quoting Operation Onward.
I just don’t know why these mindless people do such a thing. Absolutely shocking.
these arsonists should be hung up by their testicles
What is wrong with these people. PLEASE catch these imbeciles and at least NAME and SHAME them. We all know that our pathetic courts would only pat them on the head and blame society.
In particular over the past 3 years we have seen governments and councils showing little care for Britains population, motorists and small/medium sized businesses by enforcing draconian rules, taxing us to the hilt, and engaging in expensive spending sprees with their chums. The result has been escalating prices causing great difficulties in making ends meet for many of us. In addition there has been a loss of the jobs and businesses, also families and society have been split. We are also seeing our history being torn apart and cancelled which can’t be good for anything historical like heritage sites and railway lines. The damage to the railway is terrible and totally unacceptable and the culprits must be dealt with severely to set an example to others that might have the same idea. Respect for government and councils is at a all time low and they need to deal with this right now. The schools might be a good place to start. Start teaching children the basics of handling and managing their lives, teaching them how to think for themselves, managing money, saving and paying bills, and being decent people instead of the useless garbage that is now pushed upon them.
This attack isn’t just a a vandel chucking a match in a litter bin, it appears to be an orchestrated act or acts of arson.It is a great pity that the preserved railway has suffered but people could have been killed and injured.Lets hope the authorities catch someone and do their best to ensure maximum sentences.
Very sad, and a warning to all preservation groups to take as many precautions as possible to prevent arsonists (and thieves) from gaining access to vulnerable buildings and to install fire alarm systems.
Peterborough is known to antisocial people, I wish that the Council or NVR could have thought of before about secure the NVR with like new metal spike fences.