POLICE are stepping up patrols after elderly residents said they are living in fear as gangs of arsonists target derelict prefab homes on a Newport estate.

A spate of fire attacks on several prefabricated houses in the Treberth estate prompted concerns an occupied home will be targeted.

Several prefabs remain on the estate although many were demolished in recent years to make way for new bungalows.

Residents said five former homes and a bungalow show home were destroyed on the estate by fire in the last month.

The latest happened on Saturday night - investigators say this was arson and they are still probing the cause of the previous blazes.

Residents are calling for empty houses to be demolished by Newport Housing Trust and for increased police patrols.

Newport Housing Trust director Phil Toms said he "appreciated the concerns of residents" and said the derelict prefabs would be demolished by the end of June.

Joyce Jones, 82, who is partially sighted, lives near the house which was destroyed on Saturday. She said: "It is horrible and we are living in fear - we don't know what is going to happen next."

Her son-in-law David Ford, 41, helps to care for widowed Mrs Jones who has lived at her prefab for more than 50 years.

He described how a callous yob, pretending to be him, arranged for a scrap dealer to pick up her late husband's Ford Escort car.

He said the "very apologetic" scrap dealer returned the damaged vehicle after realising he had been duped.

Widow Janet Rice, 67, who recently moved into a newly developed house, saw her former home where she lived for 15 years destroyed last week. She said:"It was heart-breaking to see my old home go up in flames last week.

"I am so annoyed that they didn't take them down straight away. "When these houses are set alight, it is like a bomb's going off."

Residents also fear that homes still occupied will be targeted by mistake or that fires set at empty houses will spread to neighbouring homes and put people's lives at risk.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said CID officers were investigating incidents, including Saturday's attack.

She said: "Extra patrols, both on foot and by car, are being put in these areas to deter and detect crime.

"We also have two community support officers working with the police ward officer and crime and disorder reduction officer." Anyone with information is asked to contact Alway police on 01633 838111.

Firefighters were called to a rubbish fire inside an empty prefab in Ridgeway Hill, Newport, last night. The prefab is one of those due to be demolished.