FIREFIGHTERS crews were called to reports of a blaze which engulfed a hedge near to a property in the St Julians area of Newport in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The fire on Hove Avenue is believed to have been started when a recycling bin outside a property was set alight, in what is believed to be a deliberate arson act.

It’s thought that the initial fire then travelled to the hedge which bordered the property and a nearby fence.

The owner of the property, who did not want to be named, told the Argus their next door neighbour had alerted them to the hedge fire.

“My neighbour was banging at my door at 2am as he’d noticed my hedge had caught fire – we think it was a fire that was started in my cardboard recycling box,” they said.

“By that point, the fire was heading down towards a fence near to where my children were sleeping.

“Our neighbour called the fire brigade and by that point half the hedge was gone. They arrived really quickly and put out the fire but there’s obviously a lot of damage was done to a very old established hedge.

“The boundary wall and the wooden fence were damaged too. When I went outside the fence was on fire which is attached to the front of the house, so it was a very good job that my neighbour was vigilant because I was asleep at the back of the house.”

South Wales Argus: Fire crews at the scene on Hove Avenue in St Julians.Fire crews at the scene on Hove Avenue in St Julians.

It comes less than a week after a deliberate fire was reported in the Greenwood tower block in St Julians and a fire was started by youths under the M4 subway near Constable Drive in Beechwood.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "At approximately 1.56am on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, we received reports of a refuse fire on Hove Avenue in St Julians, Newport.

"A crew from Maindee Station attended the scene and extinguished the fire.

"A stop message was received at approximately 2.11am."