AN ARSON attack by young hooligans left two cars burnt out and a bin destroyed in Chiswick last Thursday, April 24th.

A silver Peugeot had been seen driving in the area and was reported as acting suspiciously in the early hours of the morning, but it was only later at 1.30 am that the fire brigade were called to deal with a car fire in Beverley Road.

A black W' registration Landrover (Freelander) worth around £15,000 and a green L' registration Renault Clio worth £4,000 were destroyed in the fire.

It subsequently came to light that around the same time, in a neighbouring street, Homefield Road, a bin had also been set alight but had been put out by the vigilant owners.

Mrs Garcia, the owner of the burnt out cars said she was very frightened by the incident as her three children were upstairs asleep in the house. She was angry however, that the police took three hours to arrive on the scene. One week we read in the local paper [The Times] that Chiswick police are targeting car crime, then we have a big fire, only 12 feet from the house and three children inside but they don't turn up for three hours. It is ridiculous.''

Sgt Paul Ryan, Chiswick Sector Sergeant defended the reaction time, saying: The police did send someone as soon as possible, but the priority level of the call wasn't immediate, the fire brigade presence was the most important. But the case is now being investigated.''

He continued: Over the last couple of months we have had a drain on resources locally, as PC's were seconded to Central London to help deal with the security threats there. With the end of the war, our resources are now back to normal and car crime will remain a priority for the sector office.''

If anyone saw anything or knows something about this crime, please call the Crimedesk on 020 8247 6118.