Hands up all Middlesbrough Labour Councillors who live at:
A) The Pastures, Coulby Newham
B) Thornfield Road, Linthorpe
Question 2 -
Which Labour Councillors living at:
A) The Pastures, Coulby Newham
B) Thornfield Road, Linthorpe
cannot account for their whereabouts during the time frame: June 2 and June 5 2012.
Question 3 -
Did the neighbors believe the fires were part of the Queens Jubilee Celebration:
A) YES
B) NO
Please send your answers to:
Middlesbrough Council
Arson Control Centre
The Ship Inn
Stockton Street
Middlesbrough
Cars torched in hate campaign against Middlesbrough councillors
by Sandy McKenzie, Evening Gazette Jun 14 2012
Read More http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teess ... -31182296/
ARSON attacks against two senior Middlesbrough councillors have been branded "a cowardly assault on democracy".
Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire Brigade are investigating after two cars owned by the unnamed Labour councillors were torched.
The police are linking the attacks and Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon is urging anyone with information on those responsible to come forward and help bring them to justice.
Mr Mallon, who is also believed to have received threats, said the two recent arson attacks were an outrageous attack on
democracy by people who preferred “the petrol bomb to the ballot box”.
Middlesbrough councillors have been advised by the authority to be vigilant.
The two attacks happened over the weekend of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
In the first, a car was set alight outside a house in The Pastures, Coulby Newham, at 1.50am on Saturday, June 2.
The blaze caused severe damage to the vehicle and to guttering on the house.
A second car was set alight outside a house in Thornfield Road, Linthorpe, just after 2.30am on Tuesday, June 5, damaging the vehicle.
Police attended both incidents and have said an investigation is under way.
Mr Mallon said: “I am satisfied that these attacks are linked and that the victims were deliberately targeted because they are councillors.
“There is a tiny minority of political obsessives in this town who believe they can intimidate and bully councillors out of office, but in this instance it seems their obsession has spilled over into criminality.
“This is an outrageous attack on democracy by people who prefer the petrol bomb to the ballot box.
“Attacks involving fire carry long jail sentences of several years which reflect the seriousness of such criminal acts, so it is imperative that the people who committed these offences – and those behind them – are brought to justice.”
Mr Mallon said he appealed to anyone who had any information about the attacks to contact the police immediately.”
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Cleveland Police has received a total of three reports of arson of councillors’ property in recent months.
In February the Evening Gazette reported how cars owned by long serving councillor John McPartland had been set on fire in two incidents.
In the two recent incidents a councillor living in the Coulby Newham area and a councillor living in the Linthorpe area both reported their vehicles set on fire overnight on their driveways between June 2 and June 5.
Because of the similarity of the circumstances in the two incidents, the proximity in time and the fact that both are serving elected councillors, Cleveland police are treating the two incidents as linked.
Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Simpson, of Middlesbrough Police, said: “Any attack of this nature is clearly shocking for the victim and their family.
“If these crimes are motivated as attacks against elected officials, it is also of concern for the wider community and democracy in the town.
He said: “Whilst we have to retain an open mind about the motives for these attacks, we are actively pursuing this theory and will explore all lines of inquiry to bring to justice the person or people involved in these offences.
“We are liaising with the local authority as part of this investigation.
“We would like to appeal for witnesses to the two incidents to anyone who can
offer information about the reason for the attacks or those involved.”
Police said they particularly wanted to speak to a male who was in the area at the time the first offence was committed.
He is described as being young, five feet ten inches tall and wearing a grey shirt. They appealed for anyone with information to contact Middlesbrough CID on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Cleveland Fire Brigade station manager Andy With said: “Acts of arson have a massive impact on our community.
"These unnecessary fires not only cause damage to property and the environment but also put lives at risk. They also cause a drain on our resources.
“All incidents are fully investigated in partnership with Cleveland Police which includes the monitoring of CCTV footage and where arsonists are identified, they will be prosecuted.”
