Lawnmower fire sparks trail of destruction

A faulty lawnmower which set a Werrington, Peterborough, man’s back garden shed alight caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to his neighbour’s property. The blaze in Werrington Park Avenue started by accident after resident Chris Underwood put his two-year-old lawnmower into his wooden shed after doing the gardening on Wednesday evening. After leaving it, the mower caught alight and flames spread quickly from the shed to the back garden fence Mr Underwood shares with next door neighbours Shaun and Jackie Saunders.



After the fence caught light, the flames spread to the Saunders’ £3,000 Muskateer caravan, £6,000 motorbike, the guttering and windows and melted the paintwork of his Vauxhall Zafira. Mr Underwood spotted the back garden blaze at 7pm, an hour after putting the lawnmower away. When he saw the flames creeping towards his next door neighbour’s house, he frantically went to warn them of the danger, not knowing that none of the family were at home at the time.



Mr Underwood (52) said: “I was so worried I almost put my hand through the glass. It felt like ages before the fire crews arrived, but I suppose it was only a few minutes. I tried to move their motorbike but somebody told me it had caught on fire. It all just spread so quickly. I think it could have been a faulty lawnmower. I had used it but then left it for 20 minutes before putting it in the shed. It is only two years old, it’s not ancient, but it could have been an electrical fault.”



A spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The cause of the fire was accidental and was caused by faulty equipment. An accidental fire caused by an electrical fault can be completely unexpected. This incident shows how easy it is for a fire to quickly spread to nearby vehicles and buildings. You should make sure anything which might start a fire, including electrical appliances, is kept well away from anything else that is flammable.”