Community ‘shocked and saddened’ after series of arson attacks

For the past few months, there have been an increasing number of arson attacks on everything from cars to office chairs and phone boxes

05:00, 26 Jun 2025Updated 16:36, 26 Jun 2025

A series of arson incidents in one part of Bristol that has left the community ‘shocked and saddened’ and now a public meeting is being held so residents can get answers from police.

Local councillors and community leaders have called the meeting for this Friday (June 27), after an ongoing spate of fires in the Fishponds, Oldbury Court and Frome Vale areas of East Bristol.

The meeting is set to take place on Friday evening, and has been organised by Frome Vale’s local city councillors, the Friends of Oldbury Court and the team at the Vassall Hub community centre.

Over the past few months, and in increasing number since around April this year, there have been regular reports of arson attacks across the wider Fishponds area.

Cars have been set on fire, along with mopeds, bikes, a phone box, a clothes bank and even an office chair left in the road have been torched, with fears that things may escalate and in the summer months fires could spread to other cars and homes.

Earlier this week, the derelict Farriers Arms pub on Fishponds Road was burned down, although it is not known what caused that fire, and whether it is linked to the spate of fires in the area of Fishponds to the north of Fishponds Road.

The meeting takes place at the Vassall Community Hub in Gill Avenue from 6.30pm on Friday, and organisers said it will be an opportunity for people to hear from police about ‘what is happening and what is being done’, find out how people can better protect their homes and property, and share concerns and ideas with local councillors.

“Many of us have been shocked and saddened by the recent arson attacks in our local area — including damage to the phone box outside the Vassall Centre, which was set to become a community project space,” said a spokesperson for the Vassall Community Hub.

“In response, Friends of Oldbury Court, Frome Vale councillors, and the Vassall Hub team have organised a community meeting with police officers.

“This is a space for anyone living, working or caring about our community to come together, get informed, and be part of a collective response,” they added.

One local resident said she was worried the frequency of fires was increasing and someone could get hurt. She said she posted on a community Facebook page for Fishponds this week, and other residents flagged more incidents of minor fires in their neighbourhoods.

“I have grave concern with things that are happening in East Bristol with regards to the number of arson attacks that have been taking place over the last few months,” she told Bristol Live.

“I have lived in Everest Rd in Fishponds, which is a lovely road and very quiet. I have lived here for nearly 20 years, and in the last few weeks we have had two cars set on fire at the bottom of our road. It’s highly dangerous as with the dry weather this week it easily could’ve spread to the houses,” she added.

“This is getting out of hand and really. We need to put pressure on the police to act on this and treat this as a priority. How long before someone is killed?” she added.

Bristol Live has asked Avon and Somerset police about the spate of fires, and a response is awaited. More than a month ago, after a number of arson attacks on cars and mopeds in the Frome Vale and Oldbury Court area of Fishponds, the local neighbourhood police said they were stepping up patrols.

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PCSO Hung Truong told Fishponds Voice in mid-May: “We’re working closely with the fire service and have increased our patrols in the area in recent weeks and visited homes in the area as part of CCTV enquiries to provide advice, including the installation of CCTV, video doorbell or dashcam systems, and deter further incidents.

And the local councillors for Frome Vale, Louis Martin and Al Al-Maghrabi, said they wanted a Public Space Protection Order to be reintroduced to give the police greater powers to tackle anti-social behaviour and people gathering.

An Avon and Somerset police spokesperson said: “We’re investigating a number of fires, which are believed to have been started deliberately, across the Fishponds area in recent months. Ten incidents have been identified over the last two months and work to identify the people responsible is continuing.

“The Fishponds neighbourhood team are aware and have been conducting extra high visibility patrols across the area while also liaising with the fire service to identify any new incidents. As part of these patrols, officers have also visited homes as part of their CCTV enquiries to provide crime prevention advice to deter further incidents. We would urge anyone who witnesses any incident or who has any CCTV footage to report it to us. If a crime is ongoing, call 999. Call 101 with any other information or visit https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/report/” they added.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers 100 per cent anonymously.