‘No evidence’ Sunderland youngsters are starting wheelie bin fires to get high, says fire chief

Bosses from the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service have tried to reassure parents following concerns about the trend raised by Durham Constabulary.

But speaking at last night’s Coalfield Area Committee - which overs the Copt Hill, Hetton, Houghton and Shiney Row Wards - station manager Kevin Burns claimed there was no suggestion the two were connected.

“It’s not a new thing,” he told the meeting, ”10 years ago I was in the arson task force in Gateshead and the BBC contacted me about it.

“I didn’t want to comment then because the more you comment the more it goes in the press.

“There’s no evidence these fires are connected to that.

“For me, it’s just an anti-social behaviour bin fire and until someone gives me more evidence I don’t think it’s that at all.”

Figures provided for the committee showed between November and February this year there were 20 wheelie bin fires – up from 16 the previous year.

Over the same time, the number of deliberate fires in Hetton more than doubled, from 26 last year to 55 this time around, with ‘loose refuse/wheelie bin fires’ to blame.

Earlier this month, Durham Constabulary’s ‘Durham City Police’ Facebook page shared warnings of an ‘alarming growing craze’ of young people starting deliberate fires to try and get high.

According to the post, wheelie bins are stolen and taken woods where they are set on fire to produce toxic fumes.

It added the Bearpark, Ushaw Moor, New Brancepeth, Brandon and Framwellgate Moor areas of County Durham have seen recent incidents of this nature but said that ‘it is happening all over’.

James Harrison

James Harrison , Local Democracy Reporting Service