FESTIVE cheer was thin on the ground for Minehead businessman Clive Cooper this week after arsonists struck outside his Quirke Street shop. Waste cardboard and polystyrene packing stacked in an alleyway separating Mr Cooper's Quirke Street Electrical Discount store from neighbouring Minehead Radio was set alight on Monday evening, leaving businesses with a bill running into thousands of pounds. One side of Mr Cooper's shop, which he has run for the past 20 years, was severely damaged as the fire took hold just before 7pm. A Minehead Radio Suzuki van parked in the alleyway was gutted in the incident but noone was injured, with a woman in a neighbouring flat led to safety by firefighters. Fifty four-year-old Mr Cooper, who lives in the town, was contacted by a neighbour but could only sit in a fire engine and watch the flames shooting from the building as it went up in smoke. Although insurers have yet to assess the overall cost and and damage, the shop has been boarded up and is unlikely to re-open for several months. "It's bad, pretty bad," Mr Cooper told the Free Press on Tuesday. "They wouldn't let me near the shop when I first arrived on the scene. "But now I can see what a terrible mess it is." A gaping hole in the side of the building reveals some of the extent of the damage. "Part of the ceiling has collapsed, some of the stock has gone and there's water everywhere," said Mr Cooper. "Although I will be able to continue with my outside electrical repair work, there'll be no selling from the shop for some time." Racking which had to be pulled from the wall by firefighters as they fought to tackle the blaze left equipment "smashed to smithereens," while storerooms were also damaged in the blaze. "It is a blow but there's nothing I can do about it - I'm just glad no one was injured," said Mr Cooper. He said it was not the first time that waste in the alleyway had been set alight, although a similar incident about four or five years ago had caused little damage. Minehead Radio owner Graham Sizer said the waste packaging from his shop had built up over the last couple of weeks during the busy Christmas season. He said a transition in the commercial waste collection in the town had caused "one or two problems" recently. Mr Sizer was taking part in a Minehead Running Club fancy dress fun run up Porlock Hill when the fire broke out and was dressed as a penguin. "Someone gave me a lift back to Minehead when I heard what was going on," he said. "Our van is completely burnt out, a write-off, but thankfully nobody was hurt in the incident. "The cardboard was pretty wet so it looks as though it was deliberately set alight. "The great thing is that everybody in the street has been so supportive of us and Clive and offered any help they could. "We have every sympathy with Clive and we will be rallying round to help him in any way we can." A total of four fire engines were called to the incident, with crews from Minehead, Porlock and Williton, along with a command support unit from Wiveliscombe and an incident support vehicle from Taunton. The fire was finally brought under control just after 10.30pm, with firefighters using a fan to ventilate the building, which suffered around 20 per cent fire damage and 20 per cent heat damage, as well as ten per cent heat damage to the guttering.
