A SPATE of arson attacks across the Fishponds area is being investigated by police.
Three cars and a clothes bank have been set on fire, along with a disused phone box in Oldbury Court that was due to be refurbished and given a new use as part of a community project.
The phone box outside the Vassall Centre in Gill Avenue (above) was wrecked on Sunday night.
Earlier this year the Voice reported that the Vassall Community Hub had held a meeting to come up with ideas for turning the box into a useful asset for the area.
Now supporters of the project are waiting to find out whether the structure can be saved.
‘Incredibly disheartening’
Hub community engagement manager Jess Garbett said: “It’s incredibly disheartening to see this happen just as momentum was building.
“We had a committed group of volunteers and so many brilliant ideas from the community. I honestly believe that if we’d been able to get further with the transformation, the phone box would have been less vulnerable to this kind of attack. But more than anything, it’s shown just how much people care — and that gives us something to build on.”
The Hub is arranging a clean-up and will assess whether the phone box will now need to be removed.
The team behind the project has also contacted local councillors to request a community meeting at the Vassall Centre, for residents to discuss the phone box and other similar incidents in the area.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning a car was set on fire next to Frenchay Bridge, at the bottom of Frenchay Road.
Residents in neighbouring Riverside Drive Park reported being woken up at 5am by “loud explosions like big guns” as the car burned in an area used for turning and parking, next to the woods alongside the River Frome, where the Frome Valley Walkway enters Vassalls Park.
One resident said: “It’s a wonder the entire woods didn’t go up in smoke.”
Clothing bank torched
On Sunday night shortly after 11.30pm a clothes bank outside the Co-op in Straits Parade was set on fire.
An Avon & Somerset police spokesperson said: “The fire was extinguished by firefighters .
“Officers attended and carried out initial enquiries in the area and the investigation continues.”
“If you have any information, please call 101 and use the reference number 5225 139 092.”
Police are also investigating two incidents in which cars were set alight during April in Oldbury Court Road.
The first, in the early hours of April 10, involved a VW Golf and the second, in the early hours of April 19, involved a Peugeot 208.
The police spokesperson added: “Both fires are believed to have been started deliberately and are being treated as linked, and an investigation to identify those responsible is ongoing.”
Police increase patrols
PCSO Hung Truong said: “We’re working closely with the fire service and have increased our patrols in the area in recent weeks and visited homes in the area as part of CCTV enquiries to provide advice, including the installation of CCTV, video doorbell or dashcam systems, and deter further incidents.
“If you have any CCTV footage or any other information that might help our investigations, please contact us.”
Anyone with any information on the car fires should call 101 and quote the crime reference number 5225 110 076.
Frome Vale ward councillors Louis Martin and Al Al-Maghrabi said: “The recent incidents of vandalism and antisocial behaviour are a blight on our community.
“We will continue to raise them with the police and the council.
“A Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) used to cover the Fishponds area, which allowed the police to intervene in antisocial behaviour. Unfortunately, the council allowed the PSPO to lapse, so it is no longer in place.”
The councillors are calling on the council to reintroduce the PSPO as soon as possible.