RESIDENTS of a care home were lucky to have escaped a blaze yards from their property, firefighters said yesterday.

Neighbours to St William's Home, in Cromwell Avenue, Darlington, say they are suffering from repeated arson attacks.

Fire crews were called to the home just offHaughton Road, Darlington, by Francis Jones, of Sparta Security, at 1.15am on Saturday.

Mr Jones, who spotted the blaze during his nightly patrols, said: "It's just lucky nobody was killed.

"It looks as if they've set the bin alight and that has spread up the fence and into the bushes. St William's Court Residential Home was just metres from the flames.

"I'm just glad nobody was hurt. The whole place could have gone up. I spotted the flames from around half-amile away, the fire was already was that big."

A nearby resident who was at the scene said: "I'm sick of this. It's happening all the time.

"We've told the police about it and we said we need more patrols in this area, but they just say they can't do it.

"They sometimes move the groups of kids on, but they're back here again within a couple of hours.

"I would like them to patrol the area all the time like they used to in the old days."

Noone at the care home was affected by the fire, but its owners will need to repair the fence and bushes which were badly damaged.

Jacqui Elliot, the home manager, she said: "The fire did not trigger our fire alarms, so the residents were not affected by it.

"They very well could have been though. We all feel very lucky.

"We've had to have some lights put out the back of the building as a deterrent, but this is the first time we've had anything like this at the front of the property."

Darlington's Duty Inspector Kevin McCarthy said: "We received a call about youngsters starting fires in the Cromwell Avenue area of Darlington.

"The fire brigade were called, but the youths had dispersed by the time we arrived."