Reward to catch arsonists who destroyed 460 tonnes of straw near Rougham

A pig producer which was left counting the cost after four large stacks of straw were targeted by arsonists has issued a reward to find the culprits.

Bacton Pigs Ltd is offering up to £1,000 for information leading to the prosecution and conviction of those who set fire to the stacks each containing 260 bales of straw.

About 460 tonnes were destroyed in the arson attack, which was in the early hours of Sunday, July 29 on land off Mount Road near Rougham and has cost the company between £20,000 to £40,000.

James Black, managing director of Bacton Pigs, said: “We’ve been in the driest spell we’ve had for years and anybody setting light to anything in the countryside must need their head testing because there’s absolutely no way of knowing where the fire is going to go."

Firefighters were called at about 2.22am on Sunday and the incident was under control by about 4.19pm.

Mr Black said that the incident was a ‘complete waste of resource’ for the fire service and ‘extremely selfish’.

He added: “I’m sure there will be someone out there who knows something.”

Anyone with information should contact Bury St Edmunds Police on 101 quoting crime reference 37/42556/18.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their anonymous online form at crimestoppers-uk.org

• For a full report, see Friday's Bury Free Press newspaper.