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Arsonists go on rampage

Arsonists destroyed five cars, a caravan and part of a house in a series of late night attacks in West Bromwich.

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Fire crews from Tipton and West Bromwich were called out around five times last night between 11pm and 4am to deal with fires which were being started sporadically.

A Ford Mondeo in Cordley Street, a Peugeot 206 and Mercedes Benz van in Hays Street, a Nissan Sunny in Victoria Street and a convertible Suzuki Vitara in Irvan Avenue were all hit.

Burned-out shells only remained today.

Part of a house was also damaged after fire hit a caravan, forcing 75-year-old owner Hilda Paxon to move.

Hilda, a mother of six, who has 24 grandchildren, said: "I thought my time was up.

"I thought that was the end. The first I knew about it was when the cat was making a noise.

"I got up to let him out and was just hit with a massive cloud of smoke, the heat almost knocked me over.

"I shut the door and tried to move to the back of the house as quickly as I could."

Her son-in-law, John Haycock, who live close-by and her daughter Christine helped her get out.

"The fire destroyed guttering .

West Midlands Police spokeswoman Zoe Lee said: "I can confirm that all the incidents are being treated as arson.

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