ARSONISTS are believed to have started a blaze which destroyed a disabled woman's motorised wheelchair in Menston.

The blaze razed to the ground the wooden garden shed where the wheelchair was stored. It was so intense it melted the UPVC window frames and drainpipes on a nearby flat.

Residents in the block of four flats, in Derry Lane, were forced to flee in case the blaze spread to their homes.

David Sanderson, who lives in the top floor flat with his two sons, said: "It was 9.30pm when we went to bed and the next thing we knew there was someone banging on the door. It was scary for the little one with all the bangs and explosions. I am just glad that we got him out. He was scared stiff and shaking.

"It was a mindless thing to do. It could have set one of the flats on fire.

Mr Sanderson's son, also called David, 18, said: "When I looked out of the window the shed was half way down the garden from the explosions and I could feel the heat. There were canisters flying over the roof."

"All the top windows and the drain pipe are cracked and the extractor fan in the kitchen melted with the heat. It could have risked somebody's life."

Rawdon and Otley firefighters called to the scene had the blaze under control in less than five minutes.

Rawdon Sub Officer Robert Brear said: "Obviously, having her wheelchair destroyed is going to be a profound loss to the woman and could affect her whole life."

He added that the blaze was being treated as suspected arson and that it was believed to have been started by setting light to flammable liquid. He warned against storing paint tins and aerosols in sheds outside, since they could intensify a fire.

The blaze is being investigated by police.

l FIRE officers have praised the common sense shown by a Menston man whose flat was ablaze on Tuesday night.

Firefighters from Rawdon Fire Station arrived to the scene of the fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault in the lounge of the Cleasby Road flat at 6.30pm. The flat suffered mainly from smoke damage. "When he discovered the fire, he showed good sense by shutting the lounge door behind him and phoning us," said a spokesman.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.