Families flee homes in Grimsby after cars set on fire

A mother says her young children have been left “very scared” after several cars were set on fire outside their home earlier.

Residents in three houses on Barmouth Drive in Grimsby had to flee their properties after five cars were set ablaze shortly after 00:30 BST.

CCTV footage showed two masked people dousing the vehicles in liquid before setting them alight.

Humberside Police said nobody was injured in the incident, which officers are treating as suspected arson.

Shannon Rex escaped from her house with her two toddlers after her partner, Luke Deekens, spotted the blaze.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” she said.

“I have no idea what’s going on, being woken up in the night and all you see is orange.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. With being so close as well, I think that was the scariest part as well, just not knowing what to do really.”

Firefighters arrived and put out the flames, but all five cars were destroyed.

Mr Deekens, who raised the alarm by banging on neighbours doors, said he and his family “were scared for our lives”.

Mr Deekens, who lost two cars in the blaze, described the incident as “shocking”, adding: “It’s something that we’ve never even imagined happening before last night.

“Like all three families, we were scared to even come back into the houses.

“We’re quite scared to come back now, and we’ve also said we’re worried it’s going to happen again.”

Sgt Jack Bradford said officers had identified two people believed to be in the area at the time. Both were wearing dark clothing and caps, he said.

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