YOUTHS STARTING FIRES

At around 20:10 on 12/08/2026 three unknown youths filled a Costa coffee cup with dried grass, placed it in a hedgerow towards the bottom of Lothersdale and set it alight. They were last seen heading towards Malham Road.

Fortunately, a resident had witnessed this and was able to extinguish the fire before it could spread.

Given the devastation caused by wildfires both locally & nationally, and following the recent Severe Alert issued by the government, we are very keen to identify this group.

They are described as follows:

1 x young male wearing a red t-shirt, blue hat, grey shorts and black trainers

1 x young male, bare topped, blue trousers and blue trainers

1 x young female, black hair parted down the middle, wearing a black top, black shirt, white slippers

If anyone in the vicinity has any CCTV, doorbell or dash-cam footage or any relevant information then please contact Staffs Police on 101 or via the online form or Live Chat at www.staffordshire.police.uk quoting incident number 797 of 12/08/2026.