Family’s torment at arson attacks

Jan 3 2008 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

A NORTHUMBERLAND family who were twice targeted by arsonists on New Year’s Day last night spoke of their torment.

Keith and Florence Thompson, who live at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland, were asleep when burning paper was put through their letterbox twice within an hour.

They were only woken by a smoke alarm. Later they twice had bricks thrown through their windows, one inches from where 17-year-old son Krisstofer and his visiting uncle slept.

Speaking yesterday, an emotional Mrs Thompson, 52, said: “It is a good job we got a smoke alarm in because we would not have known because we were in bed. If it had not of been for the alarm we would have been up in smoke.

“But why me? Why us? We do not bother a soul.”

Mr Thompson, 47, added: “It took me six months to decorate this house and I am sick because I can not afford anything else. Everything has gone to hell. I wish we never took it now.

“We are really sick. We are thinking about getting somewhere else. We cannot put up with this. We have had no peace since we came to Newbiggin.”

The Thompsons moved to their Wansbeck District Council owned downstairs flat at Memorial Square little more than a year ago as Florence, who suffers from arthritis, could no longer cope with stairs.

At the time, they said, they were warned by the previous tenant that the flat was a favourite target of vandals.

And in recent months they have suffered regular attacks, with three bedroom windows smashed, two in the kitchen and two in the living room.

On the evening of New Year’s Day, Mrs Thompson confronted a group of youths, who threw a brick at her front door, only to be greeted by a torrent of abuse. Family members chased the gang away and thought that was the end of the matter, but they were woken by their smoke alarm at 10pm and went to the front door to find a fire in the hallway.

The family left the house while Mr Thompson used water to put out the blaze.

But after they had gone inside and returned to bed, the alarm went off again at 10.50pm and they hurried to the door where they discovered another fire.

This time, the blaze was too powerful and the family left their home again and had to wait for firefighters to put it out.

Later in the evening bricks were thrown at the family’s windows.

Police inquiries into the fires are ongoing.