A father today blasted arsonists who torched a hedgerow just metres from his Chantry home sparking a raging inferno with flames reaching 20f threatening the lives of his family.

Ipswich Star: Karen and Andrew Laws, of Ipswich, have lost most of the hedgerow around their front garden after a large fire early Tuesday morning.Karen and Andrew Laws, of Ipswich, have lost most of the hedgerow around their front garden after a large fire early Tuesday morning. (Image: Archant)

A father today blasted arsonists who torched a hedgerow just metres from his Chantry home sparking a raging inferno with flames reaching 20f threatening the lives of his family.

Fire bugs struck at the Laws’s Hildabrook Close home in the early hours of Tuesday morning setting light to the bushes outside.

Andrew Laws described the terrifying moment police officers bashed on the front door and he woke to find the flames reaching the same height as his two-storey property.

The 49-year-old, his wife and two teenage children were asleep when the drama unfolded at about 12.15am.

Police officers on duty in the area were credited by the family with saving the day, spotting the flames and raising the alarm.

“The flames were quite high, it was unbelievable and the noise when we came out, it was quite frightening,” Mr Laws told The Star.

“We were lucky that the police were in the area really.

“It was quite frightening because it was as high as the house and you never know, it could have reached the house.”

Mr Laws, a service engineer, heard people talking and laughing outside his home before the fire, which destroyed 20-metres of hedgerow and some panel fences.

Yesterday, a spokeswoman for Suffolk police said the incident was being treated as arson.

Mr Laws added: “If that fire had got to the house, we could have been trapped in there and it could have been far, far worse.

“What was a bit of fun for them could have caused a lot of problems for other people.”

Mr Laws’s house was evacuated as soon as police arrived and houses in a neighbouring road also had to be evacuated following fears the wind could have caused the fire to spread.

One fire crew from Ipswich was sent to the scene. Firefighters managed to tackle the flames and put a stop to the fire shortly after 12.40am.

Police are now appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time and noticed anyone acting suspiciously to contact them.

If you have any information, please contact PC Nicola Turner at Ipswich Police on 101.