Man and woman arrested in connection with Goldenhill fire

We have arrested a man and woman today (Friday 14 August) as we continue to work alongside our fire colleagues at a large fire in Goldenhill, Stoke-on-Trent.

Shortly before 4.15pm yesterday, we received a call from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service who were responding to a grass fire at the back of Maureen Avenue, which was spreading quickly.

Four homes were affected, alongside a number of gardens.

Fire crews have now brought the incident under control.

We’ve progressed enquiries at pace overnight and have arrested two people in connection with the fire this morning.

A 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, from Stoke-on-Trent, have both been arrested on suspicion of arson.

Detective Inspector Emma Kempson, from our criminal investigations department, said: “We are continuing to work at pace to investigate the circumstances surrounding yesterday’s fire, which has culminated in the arrests today.

“Goldenhill Community Centre on Drummond Street was set up to provide support to evacuated individuals and others affected. We’re now working alongside Stoke-on-Trent City Council and have moved the location to Goldenhill Working Men’s Club on Mobberley Road.

“We’ve still got a number of officers in the area today and I can assure the local community we are actively working to investigate this surge in recent fires across Staffordshire.”

If you have any information that could help with our investigation, please get in touch by calling 101 or using Live Chat on our website, quoting incident 624 of 13 August.

To report anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.