Thanks for saving our pets’ lives, say family
Last updated 12:09, Tuesday, 01 July 2008
A Silloth family have thanked neighbours who rushed to the rescue after vandals set fire to a wooden hutch containing their pet rabbit and six guinea pigs.
Simon Kenyon, 38, and his partner Sharon Phillips, 37, arrived home with their children Cailan, four, Declan, 10, and 12-year-old Serena to find the three-storey hutch smouldering as their terrified pets cowered inside.
The animals only survived because neighbour Colin Mills saw the smoke and quickly doused the flames.
Police are now investigating the arson attack in Hadrian’s Avenue on Sunday.
Simon said: “We’d been for a day out and arrived back at about 4pm.
“As I pulled up, the neighbours came running up and started banging on the car window. They’d been out in the garden and smelled burning.
“Then they saw the smoke coming from the hutch at the side of our house. Colin threw water over the the flames.
“Somebody had shoved half a dozen lighted matches into it under the door. Our rabbit Nibbles and most of the guinea pigs had run to the bottom of the hutch but we found one guinea pig cowering in the top hutch in the corner. Thankfully, there were no injuries.
“It’s Serena’s rabbit and when she found out what had happened she was devastated. Declan was upset and angry.
“We just can’t figure out who has done this, and more importantly why they’ve done such a sick thing.
“In my opinion, you’d have to have a warped mind to set out deliberately to hurt animals in this way.
“Somebody’s obviously targeted them. Whoever it was must have known that this would upset the kids if these animals were hurt.”
Mr Kenyon, a professional driver, praised his neighbour for acting quickly to save Nibbles and the six guinea pigs.
Police have carried out door-to-door inquiries and have appealed for witnesses who can help their inquiry to get in touch as soon as possible.
Anybody who can help the police investigation can call Cumbria police on 0845 33 00247, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Young people seem to have no concept of reality at the moment. This is a national problem and is becoming more and more prevelant! Unfortunately as well as some poor parenting, we as a society seem to let youngsters carry on unpunished. They find ASBO's a credibility tag amoung their piers. Quite frankly they know how to work the system and take the preverbial out of it. Punishments should be far harsher to act as a deterant! Also the rest of us should not allow youngsters to bully and torment, if you see someone doing wrong they should be told, without the fear of you being attacked! Society and police punishment should be stronger towards this kind of cruel quite frankly warped act!
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Presumably they strayed onto someones vegetable patch like the cat - this is so sickening and on the other story, people were actually defending this type of action. It seems trendy these days to behave in a feral way - what has gone wrong ?
Posted by Why Bother on 1 July 2008 kl. 11:46