Mum tells of motorbike fire in Stalin Road, Colchester

Kelly Mallett rushed downstairs to see the fire at 2am on Thursday “petrified” it would spread to her property in Colchester.

Essex Police stated it is treating the incident as arson after the motorbike sustained significant damage and the front of the house in Stalin Road was partially charred.

Ms Mallett explained it was “devastating” to watch the £1,100 motorbike she had saved for months to afford go up in flames.

The 34-year-old said: “The flames had activated the motion detector on my Ring doorbell; when I realised what I was seeing I ran downstairs.

“I just grabbed the nearest thing to me - a measuring jug – and was running in and out chucking water over the fire.

Fire - the incident occurred in Stalin Road, Colchester

“I was petrified. I had two children upstairs asleep at the time and my main fear was the fire spreading to the house should the petrol tank explode.”

Ms Mallett added her son Joshua, 16, was heartbroken when he heard what had happened to his bike, which he was just two weeks away from being able to use come his 17th birthday.

She said: “He was really upset, he has autism and ADHD so things affect him perhaps more than others. He uses his current bike to get to college as he struggles with public transport.

“It took me months to save up for it, thankfully a friend is now helping me to cover the cost of a new one.

“I’m just really grateful to the fire crew and police for their speedy response.”

Essex Police stated two boys aged 16 and 12 were arrested on suspicion of arson and theft of a motor vehicle in connection with the incident, but have since been released on bail.

A spokesman added: “We arrived and found significant damage had been caused to the motorbike and parts of the front of the property had been charred.

“The fire did not spread into the home thanks to quick-thinking actions of the homeowner and a fast response from the fire service.”