Two teenagers have been arrested following six deliberate bin fires in Harrogate town centre last night.

Fire crews were called to multiple blazes involving commercial bins behind retail units, which tied up the service for two hours.

Both fire engines attended — something that won’t be possible if proposed cuts to overnight services go ahead.

Crews were called at 8.17pm last night to reports of a fire on Cambridge Street in the town centre.

Firefighters said the blaze was started deliberately by youths.

The fire was put out using hose reel jets and crews left the incident with North Yorkshire Police.

A statement from Harrogate fire station on its Facebook page said:

“Both Harrogate fire appliances were tied up for two hours last night in Harrogate.

“Crews dealt with six separate large commercial bin fires at the back of retail premises which potentially could have spread to buildings.

“Police were notified and multiple arrests took place. These unnecessary fires tie up our resources taking us away from us other incidents.”

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, is currently considering plans to reduce the number of appliances at Harrogate Fire Station to one at night.

This morning, North Yorkshire Police confirmed two boys, aged 17 and 14, were arrested on suspicion of arson. They have since been released under investigation.

A statement from the force added:

“Police are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote reference number 12220090536.”

Harrogate firefighters have dealt with a spate of bin fires in Harrogate town centre this week.

On Wednesday, they responded to reports of a bin fire on Bower Street under the railway track at 8.11pm. The cause is unknown.

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Crews responded to deliberate blazes on both Cambridge Street and Oxford Street on Monday evening.

The fire on Oxford Street was started in a bin close to commercial buildings.

A spokesman for Harrogate fire station said they believed the fires were deliberately started by the same people and have informed the police.

Arsonists attempted to set fire to Ripon Cathedral this morning.

North Yorkshire Police, which was alerted to the incident at 10.40am, is appealing for information.

Nobody was injured and no damage was caused. No further details have been released.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said:

“We were alerted to a suspected attempted arson incident at Ripon Cathedral at around 10.40am today. Thankfully there were no injuries and no damage caused.

“An investigation is ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

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The cathedral, which is celebrating its 1,350th anniversary this year, was open as normal this afternoon.

A spokesperson confirmed firefighters were called this morning after smoke was smelt inside the building. The spokesperson added:

“We have been asked not to give any more details while investigations are ongoing.”

Inside the cathedral, pictured this afternoon.

Police asked anyone with information to email sarah.hargreaves@northyorkshire.police.uk or call North Yorkshire Police on 101.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously via its website or by calling 0800 555 111.

Quote reference number 12220031515.

Harrogate Borough Council has approved plans for a new clubhouse for Sicklinghall Cricket Club after an arson attack destroyed its previous building.

The club has been using temporary shipping containers since the fire in 2016 while fundraising for a replacement clubhouse.

It lodged proposals in November for a new facility with home and away changing rooms, kitchen, storage facility, toilet and scorer’s box. The club said it could be used for other community or sports events.

The club, which is situated between Wetherby and Kirkby Overblow, has played in the village since 1925 and is currently in the top tier of the Leeds and Wetherby Cricket League.

The club is within walking distance of Sicklinghall and the application will provide sports facilities for local children.

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Two arsonists have been jailed for setting fire to a brewery in Harrogate causing up to £17,000 worth of damage.

John Christopher Brown and Scott Spurr were loitering around Harrogate Brewing Company in Hookstone Chase before throwing a “flammable item” into the grounds, causing a blaze which quickly got out of control and tore through the compound, York Crown Court heard.

The fire melted two Portaloos and several beer kegs and smoke infiltrated the brewery itself as the two “drunken idiots” ran off, said prosecutor Rob Galley.

Firefighters arrived at the scene after the arsonists themselves called 999 shortly after the blaze took hold in the middle of the night. 

They brought the fire under control, but severe damage had been caused to the family-run business which was already reeling from the covid pandemic. 

CCTV footage of the incident at about 11pm on October 6 last year showed the two men climbing over the fence at the edge of the brewery. One of them remained on the outside and lobbed a “lit piece of something”, possibly a lit cigarette or papers, into the compound.

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A flash of light could be seen on the footage before the two men ran away.

The blaze caused between £14,000 and £17,000 of damage. The heat was so intense that the Portaloos had melted an inch into the ground.

Brown and Spurr, both 22 years of age, were later arrested and identified from the clothes they were wearing at the time of the incident. The two Harrogate men appeared for sentence on Thursday after admitting to the offence.

Mr Galley said:

“Two Portaloos were melted and unrecognisable.

“Several beer kegs melted (and there was) damage to the cooling system (used for refrigeration). There was damage to (the brewery) windows.”

‘Went up like an inferno’

Owner Martin Joyce, who was finance director at Rossett School in Harrogate before buying the brewery, said the scene when he arrived the following morning was “horrendous”.

The toilets and stock room inside the building had suffered smoke damage and the windows had melted. 

Damage had been caused to stock and the rooms needed complete redecoration. The Portaloos, thought to be the source of the fire, “went up like an inferno”.

Mr Joyce, who only bought the business in January last year, said the incident had a “huge and traumatic effect” on his family.

He said the business had lost £5,000 in takings alone because he was initially unable to reopen the tap room.

Despite insurance pay-outs for the damage, they were still left with a loss of about £4,000 and their premiums had doubled.

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The business – which produces award-winning craft ales to bars and clubs in North Yorkshire – was still dealing with structural damage caused by the blaze, notably melted plastic which had seeped into the drainage system.  

Mr Joyce, known to friends and colleagues as Joe, said he had “no idea what the motive was”.

Adam Walker, for Spurr, said his client was a hard-working man with no previous convictions.

He was “truly remorseful” for the attack which was carried out while he was “heavily in drink”.

Alasdair Campbell, for Brown, said his client had acted like an “immature, drunken idiot” but that he had tried to put the fire out before fleeing.  

Judge Sean Morris blasted the two men for “setting fire to somebody’s livelihood”.

He added:

“These people worked hard to set up their business and you set fire to it.

“What resulted was serious economic impact to their business and it’s had a devastating effect on their lives. You two were a pair of drunken idiots that night.”

Brown, of Avenue Place, and Spurr, of Prospect Road, were each jailed for nine months. 

A group of teenagers is believed to have set fire to abandoned farm buildings between Killinghall and Harrogate.

Cow Dyke Farm, on Skipton Road, was targeted on June 20 at about 7.15pm.

It has been the victim of numerous arson attacks in the past.

North Yorkshire Police today issued an appeal to help find the culprits behind the latest incident.

It said in a statement:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In particular, we are appealing for information about any identification of people who were in that area at the time.”

You can call the police on 101, select option two and ask for Joshua Harrison. The officer can also be contacted on Joshua.Harrison@northyorkshire.police.uk.

The police reference number is 12210143681.

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Police are appealing for witnesses after a petrol bomb attack on a car on a driveway in Harrogate on Saturday night.

Firefighters and police, including crime scene investigators, were called to Heather Way, Killinghall at about 10.40pm.

The bomb failed to detonate but smouldered and destroyed the driver’s seat.

Several police community support officers conducted door-to-door inquiries in Heather Way yesterday.

Now North Yorkshire Police has issued an appeal for help.

It said in a statement the blaze in the Audi Q7 caused house alarms to go off and disrupted many neighbours. It added:

“Officers investigating this incident are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time to get in touch.

“Dial 101, press 1 and pass information on to the Force Control Rom, quoting reference number 12210118757.”

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A fire that destroyed a barn in Knaresborough in the early hours of the morning is thought to have been started deliberately.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews attended the incident on York Road at 1.19am and used two main jets.

It added the derelict building suffered ‘100% damage’ and the cause is believed to be deliberate.

One eyewitness from Knaresborough, who asked not to be named, told the Stray Ferret he saw the building on fire and then watched three males running from The Chase onto Manse Lane. Multiple fire engines attended the scene.

The witness added he reported the men to police who “arrived in minutes” and spoke to them. He added the police later told him the men had a ‘viable excuse’.

The barn is believed to have been vacant for a considerable period of time. It is also thought a nearby building had previously been burnt down deliberately.

The Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and North Yorkshire Police for further details about the incident but neither had replied at the time of publication.

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