Forced to flee (From Barry And District News)

Forced to flee

RESIDENTS of a sheltered housing complex had to evacuate their flats in their nightwear after yobs set fire to a vehicle in the car park in the early hours.

The incident took place at David Davies House in Wyndham Street, Barry, on Saturday, June 11, between 4.15 and 4.25am.

The fire alarm in the complex was activated, but some of the elderly residents had difficulty hearing it.

George McNabb, aged 92, was one of those residents.

He said: "The persistent ringing of the fire alarm eventually woke me up. I opened the door to my flat and the woman opposite shouted "fire".

"My flat was full of smoke and I heard my living room window crack. At first I thought a stone had been thrown at the window, but later realised it must have been the heat from the fire.

"I left my flat and took refuge in a flat opposite mine that hadn"t been affected by the smoke," added Mr McNabb.

"Once the fire was extinguished, everyone had to go downstairs so that the firefighters could talk to us.

"The police then came upstairs and opened all the windows to clear the building of smoke."

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "The first thing I heard was the fire alarm going off.

"There were a series of minor explosions and when I looked out of the window, I could see smoke billowing past.

"It could have been an awful lot worse, but no-one was hurt and that"s the main thing."

The vehicle set alight was a red Peugeot 106 owned by a resident, who was in an intensive care unit in hospital at the time of the arson attack.

Anne Hinchey, operations director for Wales & West Housing Association who run the complex, said: "This must have been a very frightening experience for residents.

"The Association takes all such incidents very seriously and is working closely with the police and residents of David Davies House regarding this matter."

*Anyone with any information should contact South Wales Police on 029 20222111 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.