A YORK man who woke up to find flames licking at his bedroom window after firebugs torched a skip in his driveway said he is "sick and tired" of yobbery.

Robert Watsham, 70, feared his car and house were in danger when a skip full of furniture and rubbish was set on fire outside his home in Gale Lane, Acomb.

Firefighters went to the scene and quickly doused the flames. But they have warned residents to be on their guard, as petty arson incidents often increase during the school holidays.

Mr Watsham, an architectural technician, believes gangs of youths who plague residents in his area are to blame for the fire.

He said: "It was rather alarming. I woke up to find flames coming up past the bedroom window. The first I knew of it was when my four dogs started barking.

"Thankfully a passing taxi driver had called the fire brigade and they dealt with it very easily. The skip was full of old chairs, plastic and general rubbish."

He said: "There are an awful lot of problems in this area and I am sick and tired of these people's behaviour."

PC Claire Hudson, community beat officer for Westfield, said the incident was probably caused by troublemaking youths.

She said gangs of antisocial youths are a problem in the area, but said it was time for residents to "get tough" and help the police crack down on their behaviour.

"It's not just a police problem. Parents need to control their kids and residents need to report suspicious behaviour when they see it. If we have timely, good quality information we can act on it and bring offenders to justice."

Leading firefighter Andrew Savory, from Acomb Fire Station, said firefighters often experience a surge in the number of minor incidents such as this during the school holidays.

He said bin, skip and car fires are a major drain on resources and could take firefighters away from a life-threatening incident.

Updated: 10:36 Saturday, May 29, 2004