Appeal following arson incident in Widnes

Detectives investigating an arson incident in Widnes are appealing for information from members of the public.

A fire was started in a brick outbuilding attached to a block of flats in Baron Close on Monday 30 November.

The incident was reported to firefighters shortly after 8pm.

They extinguished the fire before it had chance to spread beyond the storage facility that it was started in.

Fire investigators have established that it was started deliberately.

Enquiries in relation to the incident are ongoing and detectives are urging anyone with any information or footage that may help their investigation to get in touch.

Detective Constable Gary McClatchey, of Widnes CID, said: “Fire spreads quickly and can put lives as well as properties and possessions in danger.

“The fire caused damage to items within the storage facility.

“Smoke from the fire caused moderate damage to the outbuilding.

“Thankfully the fire did not spread beyond the storage facility and no-one was injured as a result of the fire. The consequences of this incident could have been much worse.

“I would like to reassure members of the community that this believed to be an isolated incident and we are doing all we can to establish who started the fire and make them face the consequences of their actions.

“As part of our ongoing enquiries we want to speak to anyone who was in the area and believes that they saw something that could aid our investigation.

“We also want to hear from anyone who thinks they may know who started the fire, or have CCTV or dashcam footage of them.”

Anyone with information or footage that may be relevant to the investigation should call Cheshire Constabulary on 101, quoting IML 863269, give the details via https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.