EXCLUSIVE ‘I got to them just in time. It doesn’t bear thinking about what could have happened’: Hero NHS nurse tells how she saved sleeping family as arson attack on their Nissan Micra threatened to set fire to their home
- Lisa Dodd, 44, spotted the fire from her bedroom window at around 1.30am
- The car was one of 13 vehicles torched in a late night rampage in Wimborne
An NHS nurse has been hailed a hero after she saved a family who were asleep in their flat as a Nissan Micra was set on fire during the Wimborne arson attacks.
Lisa Dodd, 44, had just got home from a night out when she noticed an odd-looking glowing light from her bedroom blinds.
She looked out and spotted a car ablaze in a courtyard directly next to a flat where a mother and her teenage daughters live.
Ms Dodd rushed outside and banged on a window to alert the family to the blaze before helping them to safety.
The flat was so badly damaged by the arson attack that the occupants have not been able to return to their home.
The car was one of 13 vehicles torched in a late night rampage in the Dorset market town by at least one arsonist riding a motorbike.
NHS nurse Lisa Dodd, 44, has told how she saved a family who were asleep in their flat as a car was set ablaze during an arson attack rampage on 13 cars by motorbike-riding vandals
Ms Dodd She looked out her window and spotted a car ablaze in a courtyard directly next to a flat where a mother and her teenage daughters live
The car was one of 13 vehicles torched in a late night rampage in the Dorset market town by at least one arsonist riding a motorbike
It is believed the assailant went from street to street, setting fire to an accelerant under the engine bay of random cars.
In the space of three hours he destroyed two Audi A1 cars, two Nissan Micras, a Renault Traffic van, a Ford Fiesta, a Ford Focus, a Volkswagen Passat, a Vauxhall Insignia, a Land Rover Discovery, a Fiat Panda, a BMW X5 and a Mini Cooper.
Ms Dodd was about to go to bed at 1.30am when she noticed the car fire outside her flat.
She said: ‘I was just settling down in my upstairs bedroom when I noticed something a bit strange behind my blinds.
‘The light seemed a bit off and when I looked out I saw the bonnet of the car on fire.
‘I knew that there was a sleeping family in the room next to the fire and I was worried that the car would explode.
‘I immediately ran out to wake them up and get them out of the room.
‘If the engine had exploded and set the door on fire there would have been no way out.
Ms Dodd immediately ran out to wake the family up. She said if he had been a minute later the fire would have spread
The flat was so badly damaged by the arson attack that the occupants have not been able to return to their home
‘I just wanted to get everyone into safety. If I had been a minute later the fire would have spread.
‘I’m usually asleep by 8pm after my work shifts so it was really incredibly lucky what happened.’
She added: ‘I got to them just in time. It doesn’t bear thinking about what could have happened.
‘This isn’t just some senseless vandalism. This is something else. I just thank god I stopped it.
‘It has scared everybody around here. We’re worried it could happen again.’
READ MORE: Wild West Britain: Gang of motorbike-riding arsonists torch 13 cars during late-night rampage in quaint market town leaving locals terrified – as cops hunting thugs investigate if targeted vehicles are linked
Paul Deer, who works in a neighbouring property, said: ‘Lisa is a hero. I can’t believe what could have happened.’
‘A mum and her two daughters were fast asleep when it happened.
‘They wouldn’t have had a chance.
‘People that do these things have no respect for human life.’
Reece Duncan, 30, lives on New Borough Road where four cars were torched.
He said: ‘It was like a war zone. How anybody can do this is beyond me. People rely on their cars for their livelihoods. Anyone with a car wouldn’t do this to other people. It must have been some young teenagers trying to look hard.
‘Stuff like this just doesn’t happen here. We have a lovely community, you can see it today with everyone coming out and checking on each other.’
Poppy Baker, who lives on Leigh Road near to Ms Dodd, said: ‘I’m told a man had been seen running away from a fire and someone said they saw a man jumping on the back of a motorbike.’
The incident appears to have been a terrifying act of mindless vandalism rather than a targeted attack although Dorset police have refused to provide an update on the case.
They have also failed to issue any CCTV of the motorbike-riding suspect to help with their appeal to find him, despite seizing footage from at least one address.
The arsonist started his spree in Wentworth Drive, Broadstone, at 11.35pm on May 14, by setting light to a Ford Focus.
Ms Dodd said: ‘I just wanted to get everyone into safety. If I had been a minute later the fire would have spread’
It is believed the assailant went from street to street, setting fire to an accelerant under the engine bay of random cars
It is thought he then took the scenic Castleman Trailway – a disused railway line – to ride two miles north towards Wimborne.
He torched two cars in the car park of the Willett Arms pub before heading into the town centre to set fire to eight more motors.
Finally, at 2.26am, he attacked two more vehicles in Merley Ways as he made his way out of Wimborne.
When residents woke yesterday morning the described the usually picturesque town as looking like a ‘war zone.’
A local resident said his CCTV caught the culprit between Eden Road and New Borough Road. He said: ‘On the footage the guy comes across wearing blue jeans and a tan maybe leather jacket.
‘He had his jacket over his head. He came up to here and bent down next to the car. He put something under the car and then walked off down the road. It didn’t take long for whatever it was to go off.
In the space of three hours he destroyed two Audi A1 cars, two Nissan Micras, a Renault Traffic van, a Ford Fiesta, a Ford Focus, a Volkswagen Passat, a Vauxhall Insignia, a Land Rover Discovery, a Fiat Panda, a BMW X5 and a Mini Cooper
‘It’s such a quiet town and then this happens. It’s devastating.’
He confirmed that he had given the footage to the police.
Detective Sergeant Simon Austin, of Dorset Police, said: ‘We are appealing for any witnesses to any of the incidents or anyone who might have seen suspicious activity in the roads mentioned to please come forward.
‘Also, I would urge anyone who may have home CCTV installed in those areas and anyone with dashcam to please check their footage to see if there is anything of relevance that could help us.
‘Additional neighbourhood officers will be in the area who can be approached for advice and support.’
Source: Read Full Article
