Peterborough Police say 'petrol poured over the door' in Gladstone Street arson attack - as incident linked to knife incident
Police have said petrol was poured over a door in an early morning arson attack in Peterborough.
The incident happened at 4.35am today (September 18) when petrol is believed to have been poured over the door of a shop in Gladstone Street.
Police said damage was confined to the front of the building and no-one was hurt in the incident.
However, a gas main was damaged and Cadent are dealing with this.
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “At 4.23am on Thursday (18) a crew from Dogsthorpe was called to a fire on Gladstone Street in Millfield, Peterborough. A crew from Dogsthorpe attended.
“Firefighters arrived to find a fire outside the front of a shop. They used a hose reel to extinguish the fire and returned to their station by 5.50am.
“The cause of the fire is believed to be deliberate. Anyone with information should contact police by visiting www.cambs.police.uk to submit an online report or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”
A spokesman for Cadent said: “We were called to the scene of a fire in Gladstone Street, Peterborough, in the early hours of this morning (Thursday 18 September) to support the emergency services and ensure everything related to gas was safe. When safe to do so, our engineers cut off the gas supply to the property.
“Incidents like this serve as an important reminder – to call the national gas emergency service on 0800 111 999, day or night, if you smell gas.”
The arson is being linked to another incident in the area on Tuesday where two men were arrested for affray, possessing a knife in a public place and ABH with intent.
These men appeared at Huntingdon Magistrate’s Court today. They are:
Mohamed Moustafa, 27, of Huntly Grove, Peterborough, who was charged with affray, robbery, threatening a person with a bladed article, possession of a bladed article x2, GBH and false imprisonment.
Adham Mustafa, 18, of Huntly Grove, Peterborough, who was charged with affray, robbery, threatening a person with a bladed article x2, possession of a bladed article, false imprisonment and GBH.
The victim of the attack on Tuesday afternoon was a man in his 20s. He suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and was taken to Peterborough City Hospital.
Anyone with any information about today’s fire can report it online or by calling 101 and quoting incident 49 of 18 September.