Share

Mindless vandals set fire to Druridge Bay nature reserve

A north east section of Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s East Chevington nature reserve has gone up in flames in an attack by vandals.

The pond dipping platform, most of the boardwalk, plus a large percentage of the surrounding grassland have been destroyed by fire.

As the boardwalk and dipping platform were made from recycled plastic, they burnt very quickly sending plumes of black smoke into the air that could be seen across the Druridge Bay area.

The wildlife charity would like to thank the members of the public who raised the alarm and the already overstretched fire crew whose rapid response to the calls averted a bigger blaze. It took 50 minutes for the fire to be extinguished and the area declared safe.

Two days before the fire, staff and volunteers had been inspecting the pond which was teaming with newts, frogs, dragon flies and damselflies, however, as the fire raged, the plastic melted into the pond, causing untold damage to the resident wildlife.

This mindless act of vandalism will have an impact on the Catch My Drift project which is working to protect and revive threatened habitats and species on the Druridge Bay site, whilst, at the same time, providing a wonderful nature experience for people of all ages.

One of the aims of the Catch My Drift project is to work with the local East Chevington community, however, this has been massively affected as a number of the project’s free community events over the summer, many of which were aimed at encouraging children to appreciate nature, will now have to be cancelled.

Staff and volunteers will begin the clean-up operation next week.  All burnt materials will be scraped out the pond and the remainder of the boardwalk will need to be pulled up and disposed of. 

Anybody wishing to support the clean-up can visit www.nwt.org.uk/support-us/donate and select Catch My Drift in the drop down box.

The wildlife charity is no stranger to destruction on its sites. In June 2010, the visitor centre on its Hauxley reserve at Druridge Bay was destroyed in an arson attack and had to be rebuilt. In March 2021, four of its wildlife-watching hides on the Hauxley reserve had windows and benches broken. The biggest hide, the Tern Hide, had its walls kicked in, benches ripped out and every window smashed. The repair bill ran into £1,000s.

In November 2021, the Trust’s headquarters in Gosforth were broken into by thieves who used an axe to smash through an exterior wall to gain access, before ransacking the inside and stealing valuable computer equipment.

Image shows the burnt remains of the boardwalk and dipping platforms at East Chevington Nature Reserve, still smoking from the fire. Most structure has been completely burnt to ash.

The destroyed boardwalk and dipping platform.  Images by Anthony Johnston.

Image shows the burnt remains of the boardwalk and dipping platforms at East Chevington Nature Reserve, still smoking from the fire. Most structure has been completely burnt to ash.

The destroyed boardwalk and dipping platform.  Images by Anthony Johnston.

Image taken from a beach along from East Chevington Nature Reserve. In the distance, a thick cloud of black smoke can be seen rising from the reserve.

East Chevington fire seen from Cresswell. Image by Steve Lowe.

Image of East Chevington Nature Reserve pond from before the fire, with a blue sky in the background and the dipping platform visible to the side.

The pond before the fire. Image by Sophie Wester.

Image of the East Chevington Nature Reserve pond from before the fire. Image shows the pond in the foreground of the image, and volunteers working in the background on the grass next to the pond. The dipping platform is visible to the right hand side of the image.

Volunteers at the pond and dipping platform before the fire.  Image by Sophie Webster.

Related news