Arson bid at village youth premises (From Gazette Series)

Arson bid at village youth premises

YOUTHS tried to set fire to the youth club in Wickwar over the Easter weekend.

Windows were smashed last Thursday night and the offenders, suspected to be youths, climbed in and started to light a fire.

A nearby resident was alerted by the commotion and called the fire brigade, wich was able to extinguish the blaze.

It follows a similar incident at the village pavilion in March when youths smashed windows and stole some footballs.

The youth club in Sodbury Road has been the target of a number of recent acts of vandalism and attacks. The parish council will refer all incidents to the community beat manager but said it suspected just three or four youths were ruining the image of the village for others.

Clerk Pat Trull said: "It is an issue we are all really worried about and is giving everybody a bad name."

Cllr Sarah Berry said the vandalism was worrying. She stated: "It is a safety risk to the people who live in the village. If a parishioner's safety has been compromised, we should be going to the police."

Youngsters were reported to have been causing trouble around the club for some time. On one evening ten 14 and 15-year olds were said to have been in the vicinity.

Chairman Cllr Martin Summers said: "It seems to be the disease of life at the moment. Residents should phone the police as often as when the youngsters are seen and hopefully officers will respond quickly."

He added that parents of children in the village would be warned to keep an eye on their youngsters and whom are they are mixing with.

Councillors agreed it was reasonable to assume the youths involved were from the village and a message should be sent to parents warning them what was going on.