Ferryhill mother and disabled son's caravan ruined by arsonists

Dawn Davies and her son Jake Lee were both out when the fire-starters targeted the vehicle, outside their house in Ferryhill Station, County Durham.

Miss Davies had been with friends in Guisborough on Tuesday, February 1 and the first she knew of the blaze was when she arrived home just after 9pm that night and saw the blue lights of emergency vehicles at the property.

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She said: “I drove over a bridge towards the house and saw blue lights, I wondered where they were then, as I approached home, I saw two fire engines and firefighters running around outside my house.

“I was in shock, I felt numb.”

Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames but they completely destroyed the caravan which was a lifeline for Miss Davies and 18-year-old Jake, who attends Percy Hedley School, a special school in Newcastle and has the brain condition microcephaly and associated learning disabilities.

This image from CCTV in Ferryhill Station shows two figures close to the scene at the time of the arson attack 

An investigation into the cause found that an accelerant had been used to start the fire deliberately and CCTV footage shows two suspects, thought to be young males, around the property at the time of the arson attack.

Miss Davies said: “I feel completely violated, for someone to blatantly walk past my window and target our caravan is horrendous.

“I’m still in shock now, I nearly got run over crossing the road in Newcastle the other day because my head’s not clear.

“I daren’t leave Jake in the house alone, even to pop up the village for milk and bread.

“I feel like a prisoner in my own home, on edge and worried if I go out that the people behind this see me leave and come back. I can check CCTV on my phone so I feel like a prisoner out of the house as well.

“Jake says it is really sad, it was really good for him to have his own space and for us to be able to go away in the caravan.”

Dawn Davies' caravan was destroyed by a suspect arson

Miss Davies and Jake enjoyed going away in the caravan for holidays and to music festivals.

Jake is a big music fan and enjoys DJing, as DJ EdStorm, with support from his dad Craig Lee, of trance and dance music outfit Prognosis.

On the Saturday before the arson attack, Jake had been on stage in Leeds, performing alongside world famous electronic band Juno Reactor which features on The Matrix Revolutions movie soundtrack.

Jake Lee, aka DJ EDSTORM

Police are now appealing for information about the incident, and Miss Davies had backed officers’ plea adding: “It looks like two youths who were prepared to start a fire in this way, destroying property and putting people at risk are out there on our streets.”

A spokesperson for Durham police said: “Police are treating an incident in which a caravan was set on fire as arson.

“It happened at around 8.45pm on Tuesday (February 1) in High Street, Ferryhill.

“Anyone who may have any information that could help the investigation is asked to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555111.”

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