Family vows to leave after arson

At around 10pm last Tuesday (March 23) the shed at the back of Natasha Power’s terraced property was set on fire.

As two fire appliances battled to contain the blaze residents of Dill Avenue anxiously looked on.

“We were terrified,” said 20-year-old Natasha, who is six months pregnant.

“If our oil tank had went up, next door’s would have went up and they’d all have went up. The whole row would have been on fire.”

Firefighters managed to stop the blaze just before it reached the oil tank, which was half-full.

The pregnant mum said on Wednesday during the clean up operation they found a quad bike under the charred wood, that hadn’t been there before.

Natasha, who has been living in Dill Avenue with her partner Brion for a year, said: “We’re moving out. We can’t take that risk now when there’s a child coming in July into this house.”

Next door neighbours the Fitzpatricks commented: “It’s ridiculous. This is anti-social behaviour. This is why the alleys need to be closed off. It can’t go on like this.”

Fire service confirmed two appliances from Lurgan had attended the blaze, which had taken roughly 30 minutes to extinguish. They said the shed had been set alight deliberately.