PUZZLED police are trying to track down who started a series of small fires around Felixstowe in the early hours in what appears to be a strange prank.
PUZZLED police are trying to track down who started a series of small fires around Felixstowe in the early hours in what appears to be a strange prank.
Fire crews, a large number of police officers and the force helicopter were called out after several fires were spotted under way and reports of others apparently still being set.
Today it was still not known if the blazes were the work of one person, a gang, or arsonists working together via mobile phones.
The reason behind the incident was also still a mystery – and police are appealing for information to help them track down the offenders.
A police spokeswoman said around half a dozen small fires were started around 1.30am on Sunday and in the hour that followed.
Most of the fires were set in undergrowth at The Grove woodland on the edge of town, on the A14, Port of Felixstowe dock spur road, and bins in High Road West and at Great Eastern Square shopping complex, Hamilton Road.
A police spokeswoman said: "The fires are being treated as suspicious but we have no immediate suspects at this stage.
"We had a large number of officers in the area trying to trace who was setting the fires and also the helicopter in the air providing information.
"The fire service put out most of the fires and police officers extinguished some of the smaller ones. All the fires were very small and caused no major damage and no-one was hurt.
"Investigations into the incidents are still continuing and we would appeal to anyone who has any information about them or saw any suspicious activity in the areas concerned to contact us."
Police stopped people on foot to interview them and carried out stop-and-checks on a number of vehicles in the area.
The helicopter, the force's eye-in-the-sky, swooped and hovered over the town for about an hour, reporting details of the fires and movements of people picked up on infra-red cameras.
Anyone with information about the fires or who started them is asked to contact Felixstowe police on 01473 613500.
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