As my wife and I walked home after sorting out some stuff in town today, we spied something in the bushes that we hadn’t expected to find – a moped, that had been dumped there, right by a path near our house, partially embedded in the greenery. Once inside, I phoned the police, who advised me they’d send someone to check it out. In the meantime, we went back out to collect our daughter from school.
Shortly after getting back, I happened to look out the window, to notice this:
The very same moped that had been ‘parked’ in the bushes was now alight, and the blaze took hold quite quickly and ferociously. I phoned the fire services (who, it turns out, had already been phoned) and waited as the blaze grew stronger. Thankfully, a fire engine showed up shortly after I’d phoned, and the fire was dealt with.
My wife and I were suspicious when we first found the moped. It’s rather hasty placement made us think it had been stolen, and this was confirmed when the owner actually knocked, asking if we knew anything (sadly, we didn’t witness anything, so can’t be of much help there).
What’s worrying about this entire saga is that A: it took place virtually on our doorstep (as you can see from the picture) and that B: the perpetrator(s) had absolutely no regard for the owner’s property, nor the safety of anyone in the vicinity. It’s possible that the fire was accidental (the result of the engine being left running in a state of panic as they fled the scene, or something along those lines). The cynic in me believes it was a deliberate act, either by the same people who stole it or by equally callous individuals who thought it would be ‘fun’ to set it alight, and damn anyone who happened to live nearby.
The worst part is, there is probably no evidence of who took it, so no one is likely to be taken to task for this, even though my family and several others were potentially in serious danger.
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