A FAMILY has spoken of their horror after a suspected arson attack wrecked two caravans parked behind their home.

Diana and Norman Wood, of Campion Hall Drive, in Didcot, woke up to the sound of an explosion in their back garden.

Firefighters from Didcot put out the blaze, which destroyed two caravans and a nearby tree. No one was injured during the incident at 5am on April 29.

Mrs Wood, 43, who has a 14-year-old daughter, said: “I was woken up by an exploding noise which I presumed was the cylinder going off in the caravan at the back of the house.

“It was just an inferno in the first caravan. I called the fire brigade and waited. The tree was alight as well and the flames were very high. It was incredibly scary.

“Then the second caravan took hold, which was the one inside the garden.

“Then the fence caught fire and the windows of the caravan exploded out and they were the old sort with glass.

“We used to use the second caravan as a play area and a lot of my daughter’s old toys, dolls and My Little Pony were in there. I found a Barbie doll right down on our back door.

“It was horrific. I’m usually a very calm person and can cope well in an emergency because I’m a midwife, but I was going to pieces. My daughter was my rock that morning.

“When the second caravan went up we decided to take the dog and get out of the house. I thought it was just a bit too close.”

Mrs Wood said the fire brigade managed to pull out the gas cylinder in the second caravan in time before it exploded.

She said: “The caravan that caught fire first was a temporary storage place where I kept my father’s books and photos and now everything has just gone. Some of the books are valuable, but it’s also the sentimental value.

“I’ve lost this big collection of his things. They are things, like memories, you can never replace.”

Mrs Wood said her and her husband had found the possibility of arson difficult to come to terms with.

She said: “I’m recovering from a hysterectomy and my husband is disabled.

“It’s just one more thing we don’t need. Everything has gone so bad for us for so long.

“Some of our neighbours had their allotment broken into that night and petrol and knives stolen.

“It’s scary. I haven’t been able to sleep.”

A police spokesman confirmed the fire was being treated as arson. Anyone with information should call police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

didcot@oxfordmail.co.uk