Anyone reckon we'd be out of line to report this?

dizziblonde

House out the back is empty while the world's slowest builders do it up. We've had a LOT (talking daily at some points - with no warning so people could shut windows etc) of bonfires burning building waste - always previously in a brazier type thing (too close to our garden fence for comfort mind you). Tonight however the builders set a bonfire up 2-3 hours ago, not in a brazier but just freestanding from what we can see from the back windows - and appear to have gone off home for the night - the house is in utter darkness with no sign of life (and since it's completely open to the elements in places it's not as if they're sat in another room watching telly).

Part of me thinks I'm overreacting not wanting to go to bed with a fire that's still got a heck of a lot of life in it going unattended behind us - but our gardens aren't that big, there are sparks going all over the place and it wouldn't take much for it to catch a fence and start spreading... just no idea if I'd be stirring up a hornet's nest reporting it or who the heck to report it to even (best we've found is the police non-emergency number - local fire station's not fully staffed so can't ring down there).

Anyone got any brainy ideas?

Torry_Quine

Personally I'd dial the fire-brigade but other than that the non-emergency police number who an advise you. They sound totally irresponsible and you aren't over-reacting.

WestonDave

Hose over the back fence?

There_Goes_Trouble

I'd be aiming my hosepipe over the fence if it were me....

However, you could knock on the door to make sure there's no one there and then ring the non emergency police number for advice about whether you should call the fire service to deal with it. I don't think the fire service have a non emergency number, do they?

dizziblonde

Considering the hose option at the moment - if nowt else - me and hubby out there in dressing gowns should prove to stop most things dead in their tracks!

Can't find a non-emergency number for the fire brigade anywhere (local station's not a full serviced station apparently)... really really getting cheesed off with these builders now - the last fire was burning something so stinky and smokey you couldn't get out of our back door - this one's just window frames I think (more than tempted to ring the council in the AM anyway since they're dodging tipping charges burning everything).

Added complication is that the builders are acquainted with our fantastic neighbour who's also a builder who we really don't want to get on the wrong side of!

Humphrey10

dizziblonde wrote: »

best we've found is the police non-emergency number

Call them, it's a non-emergency number like it says, it doesn't have to be an emergency for you to call them.
I've called them about a noisy police search helicopter in the early hours of the morning in the past, they didn't seem at all annoyed about the minor nature of the call!

sophieschoice

Phone the Environmental Health Dept at your local council in the morning. Most councils now have outlawed burning rubbish, domestic or otherwise.

dizziblonde

Yeah rang 101 - they said we had to ring 999 just as it was an unattended fire... now have three rather irrate looking firemen having had to scale the side gate and put it out... they look somewhat cheesed off that Bodgeit and Sons builders set a fire at 7pm (I know when they set it cos we were in the back bedroom sorting out baby stuff prior to going to bed early with a trashy DVD... yep, we live a high life here) and vanished off home!

Knowing our police I'll get 10 follow up phonecalls and the offer of victim support in the morning - they're a bit overenthusiastic at times bless 'em!

londonsurrey

For future reference, if you're worried, and whilst waiting for the fire brigade, you can start hosing down your side of the garden fence so that it doesn't overheat.

dizziblonde

Oh guess what I came home at lunchtime to? Yet more bonfires! It's got to the stage where you can't leave windows open to air, leave washing out or anything because they're blooming pyromaniac obsessed!

fluffnutter

Do you have any byelaws about bonfires during the day? Contact your council.