Fire follows depot demo
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A parked vehicle was found burning a few hours after a demonstration against the presence of a haulage depot in a residential area.
The fire, which destroyed a load of baled cardboard worth £300 at the Bolton depot of James Booth Transport Contractors, happened after local councillors had joined in the protest.
Haulier James Booth told CM that a Foden S83 cab and a vehicle tyre, as well as the gable end of the company transport office, had also been damaged in the fire.
Mr Booth told CM: "We have been having trouble with local residents for some time about the business.
Since 1900 Regidents have been complaining about the company premises being in a residential area, but Mr Booth said: "We haVe been here since the turn of the century and we have been wanting to move our premises since 1967.
"The council has never cooperated over our planning applications for various sites and now we have councillors leading the protest," he added.
The fire started only hours after the demonstration and it is thought that a sheet covering the cardboard load was set on fire.
But both the demonstration and the fire have come too late. Already, Mr Booth has bought new premises and plans to move as soon as possible. He commented that the fire was thought, in the area, to have been started by children — "but what children are about at three in the morning," he asked.