RESIDENTS of a York street have urged emergency services to help them following a string of fires near their properties.

The latest incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday in Grosvenor Terrace, off Bootham, when a fire was set alight in the garden of a rented property.

The fire was to the rear of the house, which is occupied by five students, and mainly caused damage to grass and shrubbery, but a nearby resident said he feared the damage could have been much worse.

The resident, who did not wish to be identified, said: “The brown box in right corner of this image is the gas mains into the property.

“The bush has taken most of the damage, but it could have easily burnt out of control, potentially setting fire to the cars around it or front of the properties.”

The resident also said his house had previously been targeted when someone moved their rubbish bins in front of the main door to the house before setting fire to it.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service confirmed a crew from the Acomb area was sent to tackle a wheelie bin fire at a property in Grosvenor Terrace just after 3.15am on Saturday, and that the cause of the fire was thought to be deliberate.

Dave Nicholson, chair of the Grosvenor Terrace Residents’ Association, said: “I was told by the police that this had happened, and that they were making inquiries.

“We know that the police are very active and we are very impressed with their actions so far. They have kept us very informed and that is the best we can ask for, short of catching the culprit.”

In October 2009, hundreds of residents from streets in the Clifton area were evacuated in the early hours of the morning after a fire was in a gas pipe in Upper Newborough Street.

Fire chiefs at the time said the blaze was due to a suspected serial arsonist, who had targeted the streets around Bootham Crescent and Upper Newborough Street 28 times in three months.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police urged anyone with information to phone them on 0845 6060247.