Police staggered after man tries to torch petrol station

12:10pm Friday 3rd July 2009

By Victoria Ashford

An explosion at a petrol station was narrowly averted by quick-acting police officers in Warminster after a pump containing gallons of unleaded fuel was set alight.

Police were called to the Esso Garage in East Street, at about 5.30am on Saturday by a dog walker who saw the fire being started.

Warminster inspector Dave Minty called it ‘one of the most reckless acts’ he has ever seen and said the potential results could have been devastating.

Only the actions of police officers, including Andy Lee, who were first on the scene and put the small fire out, prevented a tragedy.

Insp Minty said: “You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to realise the damage it could have caused.

“They were very lucky that we got there as soon as we did. It clearly could have been considerably worse than what happened.

“It has got to be one of the most reckless acts I have seen and it doesn’t take a genius to work out that if it had gone up in flames the impact on the local community would have been huge.”

A spokesman for Esso confirmed the incident had taken place and said: “The police attended the scene just an Esso sales assistant was reporting for duty.

“Following the correct procedure for any incident at the site, she immediately alerted her manager, who went to the site as soon as possible.”

The pump, which has a burnt nozzle, has been sealed off to the public while the garage waits for contractors to fix it.

Warminster firefighters were called to the scene later to carry out a health and safety check.

Warminster retained fire station manager Chris Trimby said: “It was a flammable liquid, the most flammable in fact, and had their been a fire there it would have been devastating.

“It would probably have closed the station and the surrounding areas for several hours, I would have thought.

“I would have hoped that it would have been confined to the forecourt area but obviously there are safety precautions that would have to be carried out.”

Neighbour Michael Porteous, of East End Avenue, said: “I did here some noise over there. There was quite a lot of people around as well.

“I think it’s quite scary but the question is, what security measures can they put in now to stop it happening again?”

Tom Howlett, 17, of East End Avenue, added: “It would have been really bad, especially as we live so close to the petrol station. It’s good the police managed to get there in time to stop it getting dangerous. ”

Simon White, 24, of George Street, Warminster, has been charged with arson. He has been released on conditional bail following an initial hearing at Chippenham Magistrates’ Court on Monday.