'Stolen petrol' caused explosion

Fiona Howard • Published 13 May 2010 11:02

VILLAGERS watching television were shocked by a huge explosion which could be heard all round the area.

Rosneath and Clynder Community Council was told on Monday that the explosion was caused by teenagers who had lit a fire on the beach and it is believed they were using some sort of accelerant, possibly a can of petrol, which had been stolen the previous night.

"It is a miracle that no-one was hurt," said one community council member who lives near the scene of the blaze, "and I am afraid it is only a matter of time until someone is seriously injured.

"I am really afraid someone is going to kill themselves. Apparently there was a huge ball of flame after the big explosion which was seen above the trees by people in the village."

The evening explosion was just one incident among many recently when residents living near the beach have been disturbed and even terrified by teenagers starting fires near their homes.

The youngsters have even started cutting down trees to fuel the flames and have thrown aerosol cans into the fires causing them to explode.

And the most recent tree felling has completely blocked a pathway created to give access to the foreshore for people with disabilities.

The community councillors were told that often groups of youngsters use the beach for under-age drinking sessions and one councillor said: "It can be very frightening when they are there and we are just worried that one of the fires will send sparks into someone's house.

"My elderly mother is terrified and the thought of kids running around the village with axes and saws is worrying."

Complaints about the behaviour have been made to the local police who have promised to be extra vigilant in that area and have also given assurances that anyone caught drinking alcohol in a public place will face an automatic £40 fine.

One villager caught a group of teenagers cutting down trees on his property but they ran away before he could challenge them.

And the councillors heard that on another occasion a wheelbarrow was stolen, filled with cut wood from a villager's porch and them once the wood was burned thrown on the fire.

The council was told that the identities of some of the culprits are known but that the parents don't seem to be interested in what they are getting up to.

Argyll and Bute Councillor Danny Kelly said he would contact the council's environment warden Dominic Swan and suggested that if the names of the suspects could be relayed to Mr Swan he would raise the matter directly with the parents.

The council agreed that they would raise the issue with SEPA because of the damage the fires are doing on the beach, write a formal letter to the police asking for help with the problems of vandalism in the village.

They would also get in touch with the GRAB Trust about beach cleaning projects in an attempt to reclaim the beach for the villagers.

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This article appeared in Helensburgh Advertiser 13 May 10

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