FIRE crews in Minehead called to an early morning arson attack on a car near the town’s harbour found themselves also battling to save a thatched cottage.

Both Minehead appliances were mobilised to the incident in Quay Street shortly after 5am on Saturday (April 20).

They quickly found flames issuing from the vehicle were threatening to catch light to the thatch roof of a nearby home.

The firefighters had to use a hose reel jet to douse the thatch with water to prevent the incident escalating.

Two sets of breathing apparatus were also used in the operation, as well as small tools and an environmental pack during the nearly two hours it took to bring the incident to a close.

The car was left 75 per cent damaged by the blaze, which fire investigators said was believed to have been started deliberately.

Avon and Somerset Police have been asked if any arrests had been made in connection with the incident.

Later in the morning on Saturday, some of the Minehead firefighters took advantage of the spring sunshine to tend to the station’s garden, where primroses, buttercups, clematis, and daisies have been in bloom and some of the trees were still holding blossom. 

The Minehead station’s re-wilding areas have also been thriving, which has benefited pollinators and other insect populations.

Patches of ground beside the station were last year sown with seeds to encourage natural wild flowers while some longer grass areas were left for the bugs and slow worms.