Five men and a teenage boy have been arrested after caravans were set alight and a horse died at the West Meadows travellers’ site in Ipswich last night.
Two men from Ipswich aged 31 and 22, one man from Wickford, Essex aged 19, one man from Barnsley, South Yorkshire aged 23 and a teenage boy have been taken into custody and will be interviewed by officers.
One 20 year old man from Wickford, Essex has also been detained on suspicion of causing criminal damage.
The site is the scene of an alleged double stabbing in which two men were killed last week.
A police spokesman said: “At around 10.10pm last night a number of properties were damaged and caravans set alight.
“Suffolk fire and rescue service attended and extinguished the fires.
“One man sustained injuries from a police dog bite while being arrested and was taken to hospital for treatment.
“A horse injured during the incident was attended by a vet but died at the scene.”
He said a number of police officers remain at West Meadows to reassure the community.
Crews from Princes Street, Ipswich and Ipswich East station attended the blaze.
The Whitehouse junction (j53) westbound, leading to Bury Road, was closed last night but has since reopened.
The victims of Thursday’s double stabbing have been formally identified as 32-year-old Barry Street and 18-year-old Nathan Oakley – both from Ipswich.
A teenage boy, who cannot be named due to legal restrictions, is due in court in Ipswich to face murder charges this morning.
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