UK- 'Vigilante' fear over fire attack

8-16-2009 United Kingdom:

EIGHT members of a South Yorkshire family - including four young children - were almost killed by arsonists who may have targeted their house mistaking it for the home of a sex offender.

Firefighters said the occupants of the property were "very, very lucky" to have escaped from the end terrace house, in Boswell Close, Rossington, Doncaster.

After the door was set alight at about 3am yesterday, flames spread into the hallway and staircase - sending thick smoke throughout the private, rented property.

Three women, aged 49, 33 and 18, a 29-year-old man and four children, two girls and two boys of eight, four, two and one, were asleep upstairs but woken by a smoke alarm, which had recently been installed by the fire service.

Finding their escape route blocked, two of the adults leapt from a rear window on to a mattress in the garden and the children were lowered down. Neighbours, who had been woken by the smoke alarm and residents' screams, then rushed to the scene. They helped drag a trampoline, which had been further up the garden, under the window, so the remaining adults could jump to safety.

South Yorkshire Fire Service crew manager Stuart Bartley said: "They were very, very lucky to escape. I think it just shows the benefits of having smoke alarms installed."

The occupants were taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, requiring treatment for smoke inhalation and injuries suffered while jumping from the house.

Three of the adults and all four children were later discharged but the 49-year-old woman remains in hospital with two broken ankles.

All eight were from the same family but not all lived at the house - some are believed to have been staying the night.

Residents of Boswell Close said the family had only been living at the house for about two months - and did not even know their names.

But the neighbour who went to help with his wife said: "We were woken by the smoke alarm and hearing them screaming and shouting. When we got round, two of the adults were down and they had already got the kids out. We just helped them drag the trampoline down the garden so the others could escape."

"It's quite worrying. The fire could have been worse and could have spread."

Neighbours said they feared the property was mistakenly targeted by vigilantes looking for Donna Hudson, 32, who last week pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children at Doncaster Crown Court.

Hudson, who is yet to be sentenced, has since moved out of the street and her old home is boarded up.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed officers knew of the suggestion the arsonists intended to target Hudson's house. He said: "We are looking into the allegation as part of our enquiries." But he added: "We can confirm that Donna Hudson has now left the area."

Anyone with information should contact Det Con Andy Gray at Doncaster CID on 01302 385630 ..Source.. by Richard Marsden