Overview
- Police and the London Fire Brigade responded to reports of a man starting multiple fires in London Fields shortly after 5am on Saturday and firefighters quickly extinguished about ten small blazes.
- No injuries were reported at the scene and emergency crews contained the fires before they spread to nearby buildings or parkland.
- Fifty-year-old Isaac Shozi of Bodney Road, Hackney was arrested at the scene, charged with arson, setting fires and possession of a Class A drug, and remanded to appear at Barkingside Magistrates' Court on Monday, 17 August.
- Detective Superintendent Liz Cumber said officers will work with the London Fire Brigade to investigate and stressed that even small fires are dangerous in the current conditions.
- The incidents come as the UK records extreme heat and drought, with a 38.1C reading at Kew Gardens and more than 1,000 wildfires this year, prompting government warnings, mobile alerts against barbecues and temporary measures to reduce ignition risks.