Mum's shock as bin set on fire and pushed under her flat's window

A bin was set on fire and placed near the window of a Cambridgeshire family's flat. Nina Parker, from March, said she was alerted by her neighbour banging on her door at around 9.50pm on Saturday (November 23).

The communal bin had deodorant cans inside and was moved away from the property by Nina's partner. She said that the fire would've shattered their windows if it had been left there any longer.

Two fire crews were called to the scene and they were able to extinguish the blaze. A photo showed that the bin was destroyed by the fire, which is believed to have been started on purpose.

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Nina said: "Me, my partner and my three-year-old were all in bed. My partner was asleep, I was sitting on my phone, but I don't face the window, so I was facing the hallway, and then we heard banging on our front door and it was a neighbour upstairs and she was like, 'You need to get out the flat, there's a fire'.

"So my partner quickly jumped up and he looked out the window and there was a blue bin on fire right up against our window. The first thing he did was literally run outside and move the bin while it was still on fire because the fire brigade hadn't showed up yet. It had deodorant cans in it, so he just grabbed it and chucked it away from our window.

"Five minutes later, the fire brigade showed up and put it out. Then they came and knocked on our door to check to see if my partner's hands were okay.

"If my partner hadn't moved it out the way, then it probably would have shattered all the windows. We've got communal bins because we live in flats, so the bin shed is right next to our flat, but they moved the bin and put it underneath our living room window."

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "At 9.49pm on Saturday (23) two crews from March were called to a bin fire on Abbeygate Court in March. Firefighters used a hose reel to extinguish the fire and returned to their station by 10.10pm.

"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."