The bizarre claim comes as a trend swept TikTok of Year 13 students lighting barbecues and burning notepads after receiving their exam scores. Fire chiefs said they were keeping an open mind
A raging wildfire that forced families to flee in terror before tearing through their homes could have been started by A-level students burning their note books, it is claimed.
The bizarre claim comes as a trend swept TikTok of Year 13 students lighting barbecues and burning notepads after receiving their exam scores. It comes as Andy Burnham today banned disposable barbies in an emergency package of measures to stop wildfires.
The “apocalyptic” scenes in Stourbridge saw 19 houses fully destroyed and 18 damaged by a major wildfire as flames ripped across 500 acres in the West Midlands. It also injured 10 people, including three firefighters and a child on Thursday.
Shocking photographs show the scale of destruction caused as families reveal they have “lost everything” in the blaze.
West Midlands Fire Service said the ongoing blaze near a golf course in an area where houses average £1million is “one of the most significant” incidents they had ever dealt with.
And on Friday, speculation grew it may have been sparked by youngsters taking park in a popular TikTok craze in which students film themselves lighting up their paperwork.
West Midlands Fire Service said the rumours were being considered and had been shared with fire crews, who had so far not found direct evidence to support the theory. But they said they remain open minded about the individual causes of blazes.
A spokesman told the Birmingham Mail: “At this stage we would not want to blame young people or any particular groups of people but our investigations are at an early stage.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told reporters in Stourbridge on Friday: “Britain is a tinderbox right now… This is not over by any means. We’ve got 37 fires smouldering around the country, so it could be more. So please bear that in mind at all times.'”
One family in Stourbridge have lost their home of 20 years and believe their pets have perished while other neighbours have told how a scene “like a disaster movie” unfolded.
A local resident, who did not want to be named, said: “Families have lost everything. I’m not sure how we will ever fully recover from this. The fire was apocalyptic. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The Government has issued the temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues as they pose a “significant risk to the public”. Mr Burnham said: “We ask retailers to implement the ban in full until further notice.