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| Calshot Beach Huts |
Hello,
Unfortunately I have to report an incident which occurred in the early hours of 20/04/07 where 3 beach huts were burnt down and 2 suffered scorch damage to their sides.
Fire service attended at 0250hrs and the fire had been going for around 20 minutes.
There was no wind to whip up the flames and the seat of the fire was in one beach hut which spread to the others.
The fire was reported by persons in the distance as such there are no witnesses to the incident and fire service state no one was on the beach when they arrived and there were no vehicles which passed them on their journey to the incident.
The fire is being treated as arson as it is very unlikely to be an accident. Unfortunately there were no scenes of crime evidence and no response to the press release so the investigation has no leads to progress unless new evidence comes to my attention.
I would like to thank the NFDC beach hut owners for inviting me to their AGM and the friendly welcome I received from members and the committee. Issues raised for the police were mainly about anti social behaviour from youths swearing and jet skis being inconsiderate.
On the first matter any anti social behaviour be it littering or swearing is unacceptable and will be dealt with appropriately (one youth is currently going to court for swearing in the area) please do report any incidents which are on going so that police, community wardens or Police Community Support Officers can attend, I am advised the new 101 number is working well for this.
In relation to the Jet Skis I have passed this on to the police marine unit to see if they can bear it in mind when in the Solent to deal as required (however they are a small unit with other commitments so this will be in addition to primary tasks).
Obviously any persons giving cause for concern regarding damage to beach huts should be reported 999 with a description of offender physical and clothing plus a direction of travel so that police can have best chance of responding.
Fawley Parish Council have kindly allowed us to use Jubilee Hall for the beach hut watch meeting and this will be on Saturday June 09th at 1600hrs with the meeting running for 90 minutes to allow for my presentation, a group discussion and any questions.
(I apologise for the meeting being this far in the future however with the FA Cup Final, bank holiday and my being unable to attend the first Saturday in June it is the earliest viable date).
NFDC have given £300 to enable the group to purchase any equipment which is deemed required so that owners can patrol/walk the beach effectively and safely. This patrol will be in addition to police patrol and will be non confrontational to report damage and call in police if incidents are happening at the time.
NFDC Sharon Plumridge and team have been very helpful in supporting me in my work with the beach huts and though I haven’t yet received a response from Cadland Estate I am sure they will be just as helpful.
I look forward to meeting and speaking to beach hut owners in the near future.
Adrian
PC 3216 WOODHEAD |
