POLICE investigating a series of arson attacks in west Felixstowe will re-open unsolved cases from the past two years to see if there are similarities.

By Richard Cornwell

POLICE investigating a series of arson attacks in west Felixstowe will re-open unsolved cases from the past two years to see if there are similarities.

Officers revealed today that there haD been three incidents this week after inquiries into a blaze at a pub revealed that it too had been started deliberately.

The incident at The Dooley in Ferry Lane happened on Tuesday at 6.30pm – not long before gas pipes were set alight at Felixstowe Beach Holiday Park in nearby Walton Avenue, damaging four caravans.

The previous evening, businessman Stephen Flynn lost £10,000 of bikes stored in a container in the garden of his home in Coronation Drive after the box was set alight.

Police said the incident at The Dooley had not at first been thought suspicious, but now it was clear that a skip had been set ablaze by fireraisers. The flames had then spread to a storage shed and a shower cubicle.

Police said: "It is very early stages in the investigation into these three incidents and we are keeping an open mind on whether they are linked or not.

"Several lines of inquiry are ongoing and we would repeat our appeal for anyone who was in the area at the time of the fires and who saw anything suspicious at all to come forward and speak to us."

Officers would also be looking at other fires which have happened in Felixstowe.

In the past couple of years there have been two other spates of arson attacks – and all have happened in the same area of town as the latest incidents.

The police will be looking to see if there are any similarities between the fires to suggest they could be the work of one person or a group of people.

In spring 2000, over a period of several weeks, cars were burned out, a boat in the driveway of a house was set alight, and a mobile showroom belonging to a local business was destroyed.

In March this year, three fires were set within half an hour when two cars were set alight in Margaret Street, and a camper van and a storage building at the Co-op in Wadgate Road.

Anyone with information about this week's fires is asked to contact Felixstowe police on 01473 613500.