Police appeal for information following arson offences in Batley

Police are treating the two incidents as linked, as well as an incident of criminal damage at one of the properties.

The most recent incident occurred at a property on Purlwell Lane in Batley yesterday morning (October 9).

It occurred between 12.30am and 12.50am, when two people approached the property and used accelerants to ignite the front door.

The occupants of the property were safely removed by fire crews and taken to hospital to be checked over.

The same address was the target for an incident of criminal damage in the early hours of September 23, when two windows were smashed.

There was also an earlier arson incident at a property on James Street in Batley, in the early hours of September 22.

No one was injured in this incident.

A white BMW was seen in the area of the James Street offence which is believed to have been used by those involved.

Detective Inspector James Bellhouse, of the Kirklees Precision team, said: “It is extremely lucky that no one has been seriously injured in either of these arson incidents. Both have occurred at a time when the perpetrators would expect the occupants to be inside asleep.

“These appear to be targeted incidents however currently the motivations behind them are unclear.

“While these offences have all occurred within the early hours of the morning, we understand there were still some vehicles on the roads. There may be members of the public who have seen those involved or got footage of them on their vehicle dashcams.

“We would urge anyone with any information that could assist our ongoing enquiries to please make contact.”

Information can be passed to Kirklees Precision via www.westyorkshire.police.uk/livechat or by calling 101, quoting crime reference 13250579158.

If anyone wishes to provide information anonymously, they can do so by contacting independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.