THIEVES trying to steal a caravan caused £100,000 worth of damage after their bungled efforts started a fire.

Sparks from a tool being used to force open a lock on the caravan at a farm near Guisborough, Teesside, ignited nearby gas bottles and caused a huge blaze.

Anne Griffiths, of Head Farm, in Lingdale, was alone on the property while her husband, Gary, was out fishing on Friday afternoon.

She said: "I saw three men out of the window and I went to see what they were doing.

"I shouted from the bottom of the field, but I was not going up there because there were three of them and I was on my own. They saw me and jumped in their car.

"They shot past me. If I had been standing in front of them, I am not sure they would have stopped."

She noticed the grass was alight and dialled 999. The men had been using an angle grinder, the sparks from which ignited the gas bottles.

Mr Griffiths rushed back after a call from his wife, but before the fire brigade came, an environmental health officer arrived to investigate the pollution the fire was causing.

Mr Griffiths said: "They must have thought we were having a bonfire."

Two caravans were written off and another two damaged. A converted lorry designed to carry horses was also destroyed.

The fire brigade battled for two hours to extinguish the blaze. Mr Griffiths said: "The burned caravans have been reduced to a chassis. One of the damaged ones will probably be written off too because the heat made it buckle."

Mrs Griffiths said: "It was frightening. When I went to bed that night, I was worried they might come back. They violated my home."

The men were travelling in a red 4x4 vehicle. Part of the registration may have been S297.

Police are urging anyone who has seen the vehicle or knows anything about the incident to contact them on (01642) 302626.