• A Newcastle-upon-Tyne haulage firm is doing business as usual
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despite a suspected arson attack which did £100,000 worth of damage to seven of its trailers last week.
The blaze follows six burglaries at the Waugh Road Services' depot in Wallsend over the past two months. Six people were convicted for burglary following those incidents, and Northumbria Police have confirmed possible links between the recent crimes and the fire.
Firefighters tackled the fire at around 01:30hrs on Monday 1 February after a series of explosions ripped through the WAS compound on the Point Pleasant industrial estate.
A fireman suffered a broken arm when he was blown from the back of a blazing trader; six Darcroft and Vanhool curtainsiders and a Craven Tasker flatbed trailer were destroyed.
John Arkle is managing director at WRS, which usually runs a fleet of 110 trailers and 60 tractors. He says: "This could be a revenge attack. It was devastating to discover such a lot of damage."
The fire also destroyed the trailers' loads, which included toilet paper and plastic packaging. But the firm is pressing on with hired and borrowed trailers.