Man charged over East Dene arson attack

POLICE have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack after a fire ripped through a home.

Joseph Dethick (26), of South Crescent, East Dene, will appear before Rotherham Magistrates’ Court today charged with arson.

Emergency services were called at around 11pm on Friday to reports of a fire at a semi-detached property in Dene Crescent, East Dene.

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said crews arrived at the scene at 11.25pm.

The front door and hallway were alight when firefighters arrived.

The homeowners were not at home at the time of the blaze, which took two fire crews from Rotherham and two from Dearne station, to bring under control in around 90 minutes.

Arsonists struck again around the borough this weekend.

On the same night a van was deliberately set alight on Devonshire Road in Maltby at 9.55pm.

A crew from Maltby station was at the scene for an hour.

On Saturday morning at 5.45am at Parkgate Business Park, Rail Mill Way, Parkgate, a crew from Rotherham station dealt with a skip blaze that had been deliberately started.

A crew from Dearne station dealt with an accidental fire after a faulty car engine caused a driver to stop at Ringway, Bolton-upon-Dearne, on Sunday night at 7.10pm.