People living around one of South Bristol’s most picturesque green spaces are calling on more to be done to stop people setting fire to mattresses and stolen motorbikes there. People living near the Northern Slopes say the issue has got a lot worse over the past month or so, with at least five burned out mopeds and three mattress fires just in the past month alone.
The green space has Knowle West at the top of the slopes and Bedminster at the bottom, and has long had a problem as a hotspot for fires, but residents fear with the prolonged dry spell this summer, a repeat of last year’s huge blaze which nearly spread to nearby houses, could be a possibility.
Read next: Aftermath of Northern Slopes fire shows just how close it came to homes
The fire last August at the peak of the record-breaking heatwave saw firecrews battle to stop the flames spreading from a fire which spread up the slopes from Kingswear Road to get within a few feet of the homes on Glyn Vale and Lurgan Walk.
This year, the firebugs are still at it, according to one local resident, who has counted at least five mopeds being torched in the past four weeks or so.
“We believe there is a local gang using the slopes to dispose of mopeds that they have stolen, and bizarrely there are two guys who lug mattresses up there and set fire to them. The fire service has been called out a number of times to deal with the fire,” he said.
To keep up-to-date with the latest South Bristol news, join our community of subscribers with my South Bristol newsletter here.
“We are reporting to the police and council, however not much seems to be done either to tackle the gang doing this or even cleaning up the mess left behind. This activity is making an area that once felt safe, feel distinctly unsafe. Additionally, wasting emergency service capacity on dealing with issues like this, could be placing lives at risk as they are less able to deal with other incidents which may be life threatening,” he added.
“The police are massively under-funded and under-resourced, so I understand the situation, but it’s frustrating that we will call them when we see the lads on these mopeds and they maybe arrive three hours later, and by then the moped has been ridden around the slopes a bit and then torched,” he added.
“I’ve called 999, 101 and Crimestoppers, and reported it on the council website to get it cleared up, but no-one seems to be coming with any urgency to this,” he added.
