FIREBUGS as young as nine years old are being blamed for a series of arson attacks in Otley.

In the last two months, firefighters have been called out 11 times to the old Tannery in Gay Lane and up to 20 times at other fires across the town.

Traders have been left with bills of hundreds of pounds after rubbish bins outside their premises have been repeatedly set alight.

Derelict buildings, garages, recycling bins in Courthouse Street and the boating hut in Wharfemeadows Park have also been set alight.

Sub officer at Otley Fire Station Graham Newall said a gang of teenagers was often seen running away from the scene of fires or brazenly hanging around while the fires were being tackled.

"In the last two months there have been 11 fires at the old tannery and between 15 and 20 rubbish fires around Otley.

"On one Saturday night in February we had two incidents at the mill and two car fires," he said.

At many of the fires, a gang of seven or eight youngsters aged from nine years old had been seen and on one occasion at a fire at garages in Bondgate a scuffle broke out between the youths and residents.

On Monday last week rubbish bins behind the Help the Aged and RSPCA charity shops in Boroughgate and bins outside the Leeds House Caf, Market Square were set alight.

Shop workers say they called emergency services to five separate fires within two hours on the Monday - all believed to be the work of the same group of youths.

Rawson Hall, owner of Leeds House Caf, said: "It's disgusting. When you are working a 100 hour week you just don't need it. I paid for those bins myself. If these kids carry on they will end up injuring someone."

The fire in the bins outside Leeds House Cafe was witnessed by two employees of the Halifax bank on Kirkgate. James Scott and Neil Shearer. The banking advisers were walking towards Global video shop on Kirkgate when they saw a group of youths walking away from the bins.

Neil Shearer said: "It was about 6.30pm, definitely still sunlight. We noticed a group of about five youths, male and female, under the age of 16, walking briskly away. That's when we saw the bin was on fire. We went into Global and asked to borrow their fire extinguisher and then James put the fire out. The bin is plastic and right next to a building. If it had got out of hand it could have been bad."

Manager of Help the Aged Enid Lane said: "It's an absolute disgrace. The fire brigade had to come and put out the last bin fire so it is now full of water and the bin men can't empty it. Our stock delivery men are having to empty the rubbish themselves."

"It's unhygienic" Mrs Lane added. "There is no point in us replacing the bin because they will just do it again. We need a metal cage to put the bin in. I have been here for four years and the problem of vandalism has definitely got worse. Kids used to just empty the bins out, now they are setting fire to them."

Katy Kilmartin, manager of the RSPCA shop on Boroughgate, said: "You can't put everything down to kids. What I know is somebody set fire to the plastic bin at the back of the premises. It's so dangerous.

"I don't know what can be done about it other than a few of us get together and have a pen built to keep the bins in, and we use keys to access them."

Sub officer Newall appealed to people to keep an eye out and report anything suspicious to the police.

"We need the help of the public and to report any incidents they see. We would ask for people to be vigilant and to telephone the police if they see anything suspicious."

l A 15 year old Otley girl has been arrested and questioned in relation to an attempted fire at the boat hut in Wharfemeadows Park on Sunday, April 20. She is now on police bail.