Victim offers £100 (From Penarth Times)

Victim offers £100

A PENARTH arson victim is offering a cash reward in a bid to catch the culprits. Jeff Phillips, of Andrew Road, will pay £100 for any information which leads to conviction of the criminals responsible.

Mr Phillips, 51, said he is baffled by the motiveless attack which happened outside his home at around 8pm on Wednesday.

He was alerted by a local man who called at his house and informed him that his treasured jeep was a fireball of flames.

Mr Phillips, a mechanical contractor, raced outside and saw that the back wheel cover was blazing and "flames were climbing up to the roof" of his Japanese metallic burgundy jeep.

He frantically started pulling off burning vinyl and plastic, tackling the flames with his bare hands, and as a result suffered minor burns and blisters.

Using buckets of water Mr Phillips rushed back and forth four times in a bid to put out the fire.

A neighbour called the emergency services and the fire brigade subsequently soaked the vehicle with water to ensure the flames had been entirely extinguished.

Fire damage completely burnt the entire roof and all of the carpet flooring in the Japanese Kia Asia Rocsta Jeep. The extreme heat melted the lights and seat belts. The bumper was also destroyed and the number plate was damaged.

Mr Phillips uses the vehicle on a daily basis, as it is his main mode of transport, and he uses it for work to pull a JCB, bikes or a trailer.

He estimated that the fire had caused around £1,000 worth of damage to his jeep.

Two years ago his American Camper had all of its windows smashed and another small car that he owned was also damaged.

He claimed youths in the area constantly smash the street lamps and snap numerous aerials off cars.

He is currently awaiting an operation and cannot understand why anyone would want to do something like this to him.

The South Wales Fire Service confirmed they had attended a car fire in Andrew Road on that date.

A spokesman for the fire service added that the cause of the fire was unknown and they were not investigating further.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Penarth Police on 029 20702428.