Fire Incident on Fairfield Drive, Codsall – Appeal for Information

At approximately 6:15pm this evening (26 July 2026), unknown persons set fire to a bench on Fairfield Drive, Codsall, beneath a large conifer tree.

Thankfully, due to the swift actions of members of the public who extinguished the flames before the arrival of Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, this incident did not spread further. The Fire Service remains in attendance, continuing to dampen down the affected area.

If anyone has any information relating to this incident, or has CCTV, doorbell camera  that may assist, please contact Staffordshire Police on 101, quoting incident reference 674 of 26/07/2026.

Parents, if your child returns home this evening smelling of smoke or you have any information that may help identify those responsible, please email Frances.Taylor@staffordshire.police.uk. This incident could have had very serious consequences, and it is important that those involved understand the gravity of their actions.

This follows a separate incident on the same field yesterday evening, where a group of youths were using golf clubs to damage and break tree branches. The youths were spoken to by officers, and enquiries will be made to establish whether the same individuals may have been involved in this evening's fire.

I would urge all parents and guardians to speak with their children about the dangers of playing with fire, particularly given the current dry conditions following the recent spell of warm weather. What may seem like a prank can very quickly become a serious fire, placing people, property and wildlife at risk.

Thank you to the members of the public who acted quickly and responsibly, helping to prevent what could have been a much more significant incident.