Police search for e-motorbike riders after fires

Nottinghamshire Police has launched an arson investigation into a series of fires officers believe were started by a group riding e-motorbikes.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said there had been a "stark rise" in the number of wildfires in the Mansfield area.

Sgt Lee Walker, of the Mansfield neighbourhood policing team, said: "It is believed some of the fires have been deliberately lit by a group riding e-motorbikes around the area and investigations are ongoing."

Red and amber heat weather warnings have been issued for the East Midlands during the summer, with a top recorded temperature of 36.9C (98F) in Nottinghamshire.

Walker added: "We are working alongside our fire service colleagues following a number of wildfires in the Mansfield area over recent days.

"Any arson attack is incredibly reckless, and the recent dry weather has made this behaviour even more dangerous for the whole community."

About nine acres (3.6 hectares) of land were affected by a wildfire at Strawberry Hill heath in Mansfield earlier in August. However, the cause of the blaze, which took several days to bring under control, could not be determined.

Police have not stated where the suspected arson incidents in Mansfield were located, but fire service group manager Leigh Holmes said: "It's one significant incident after another and we haven't had chance yet to really investigate the root cause any further.

"If arson is suspected, which at some of the incidents it is, we do request the police are informed."

Holmes added that the number of outdoor fires this year had risen by nearly half compared to last year.

He said there have been more than 900 fires across the county since 1 July, 27 of which were wildfires.

"It's been a very busy summer," he said.

"We had one at Strawberry Hill heath near Mansfield, and that went on for a number of days.

"We were also firefighting in a number of fields at Rise Park.

"We've also had a significant fire in the Bestwood area and at some points we used people's gardens to firefight because it was so close to people's properties."

He said firefighters had also supported colleagues in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Cambridgeshire.

Vince Lane, a crew manager at the fire service, said the service first looked into specialist wildlife capability equipment following the hot summer of 2022.

The vehicles are smaller than normal fire engines, so they can access woodland and heathland areas.

The three vehicles in the service have been used 140 times since June this year.

Nottinghamshire Police has urged anyone with information into the fires in Mansfield to come forward with information.

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