Fire at car compound being "treated as arson"

A FIRE at a vehicle compound which damaged 28 cars is being treated as arson, police have confirmed.

Officers were called to the blaze at Richford Motor Services, atn Farfield Park in Manvers, at around 3am on Saturday.

Firefighters from Dearne, Rotherham and Edlington fire stations attended, finding a VW Passat alight.

The blaze affected 28 vehicles in total, with crews remaining on the scene until 7.40am.

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “We got a call at around 2.50am on March 3 to a secure vehicle compound on Fairfield Park, Manvers.

“It is believed that a fire had started in between two vehicles and spread to 27, causing varying levels of damage.

“An investigation is underway — initial enquiries suggest that it was started deliberately and is being treated as arson.”

Up to 70 vehicles were damaged on the same premises in October 2015 in another arson attack.

A spokeswoman for Richford Motor Services declined to answer questions about the blaze on Monday.