Family in fear after Rose Hill arson attacks

Kevin McKenna, from Butler House in Ashurst Way, said there had been three fires in six months.

The latest, in the early hours of Saturday morning, forced him and partner Tracy Ludlow to climb through a window to escape with their 20-month-old daughter Cerys.

Mr McKenna, 41, said: “Just after midnight the other night, there was a blaze outside our door. I had to hand the baby out the window to my partner and you could feel the heat inside. It is quite frightening.”

Fire crews tackled the blaze, which was caused when three sheds outside the property were set alight.

Bins outside the Oxfordshire Citizens’ Housing Association run block, which provide accommodation for 14 families, have been set on fire twice.

Mr McKenna said: “Next door have a 20-month-old baby too, and about four or five doors down, they have a young child. All the residents are worried.”

He said: “It could be kids to blame for setting the fires but we are not certain.

“There are a lot of teens who go up and down outside because they have nothing to do, or it could be the Friday night drinkers.

“It is scary and it is quite dark out there, especially around the back. But hopefully the council are going to put security cameras up.”

Mr McKenna said the area had also been fly-tippied in the past, leaving the housing looking like a “war-zone”. He said that could be why people targeted the building.

He said: “It looks very shabby from the outside.

“The communal gardens here are nice, but people walk by and throw rubbish from the main road. Outside, it looks like a bomb has hit it.”

He added: “We don’t know who to turn to.”

Partner Ms Ludlow said she feared the family is being targeted.

She said: “The three sheds next to our home were nearly burned to a cinder. Our bathroom window is all cracked and we could feel the heat from inside.”

Philip Brady, of OCHA, said it was working with the city council and police to consider what action to take.