Community transport service fights back after arson attack

By Jane Williams

The charity providing community transport to people in Filton and other areas was left in a perilous state last spring after more than half of its’ vans were destroyed in an arson attack. Now that the culprit has been imprisoned, FiltonVoice caught up with CEO Nigel Davis to find out how the organisation has been managing.

Four Towns and Vale Link Community Transport (4TVLCT) is a small charity based in Frampton Cotterell that provides transport to members of the community who, for whatever reason, cannot use existing transport services. Service users include vulnerable school children as well as older people who need to attend medical appointments or do their supermarket shopping.

The charity’s website states: “Our aim is to promote social inclusion within South Gloucestershire by helping residents to be self-sufficient and maintain their personal independence.”

The arson attack took place last April when 4TVLCT’s fleet was parked at Rolls-Royce Patchway. Some 13 of the charity’s vehicles were destroyed in the fire, for which Daniel Cron was sentenced in January.

“We are still not back where we were prior to the vandalism,” Mr Davis said, nine months after the incident.

“It was a very difficult and time critical undertaking to try to replace the written-off minibuses in the open market. Certain vehicles were simply not available or delivery timescales were advised to be up to 52 weeks. We could not wait longer than a few days if all our commitments were to be achieved. This was a very stressful time for all of us at the charity.”

Nigel added that, following the arson attack, 4TVLCT was given just seven days to remove all of its vehicles from RollsRoyce, “which was more of a blow than the actual fire itself as finding free parking in the area in which we operate was always going to be difficult”.

However, the community rose to the challenge and offers of support came in.

“We were loaned vehicles by Callicroft school and ALD Automotive, who then kindly allowed us to buy a minibus from them, which helped ease the vehicle replacement issues,” said Nigel.

Crossbow House in Frampton Cotterell also allowed the charity to park vehicles on their site.

“This has helped us to maintain our support for SEN school runs, ring and ride transport for the elderly and a huge uplift in medical-related appointments on behalf of our members," he said.

Like many charities, 4TVLCT lost a great number of its volunteers during the Covid-19 pandemic that began in 2020.

However, Nigel remains positive. He said: “Despite all of this, we are making some progress in respect of long-term minibus parking and office facilities. We are currently awaiting sight of a lease for parking our vehicles in Patchway. This currently rests between the developer Horizon 38 and South Gloucestershire Council. We are doing all we can to make this possible but we are really in their hands. This move is critical for us as it will give us a bus depot for in excess of 20 years and, by so doing, allow us to maintain our vital community services.”

Nigel promises that they are doing their best to maintain business as usual

He said: “We shall try to support the transportdisadvantaged with our minibus fleet, which is almost back to its pre-attack level.”

4TVLCT is actively looking to employ drivers. They can offer full training and have a range of full-time and part-time roles. They also have opportunities for volunteer car drivers and admin roles. If you are interested in these roles, or in using the services of 4TVLCT, please contact them on 01454 250500.

Police thank public after vehicle arsonist jailed

A Filton man who set fire to 20 vehicles causing hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage has been jailed.

Daniel Cron, 26, left, appeared at Bristol Crown Court in January where he was sentenced to three years in prison having pleaded guilty to 21 counts of arson – 20 vehicles and a fence – at a previous hearing.

Cron, along with an as yet unidentified man, set fire to both private and commercial vehicles in the Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford areas of South Gloucestershire in the early hours of April 3 last year.

A large number of the vehicles were minibuses which belonged to Four Towns and Vale Link Community Transport which provided transport services for vulnerable adults and children.

Following the incident, detectives appealed for the public’s help to identify CCTV footage which could aid their investigation.

Dozens of people submitted footage from their private CCTV, doorbell cameras and dashcam.

Using the footage, officers then tracked Cron and the other man as he set fire to the vehicles over a three-and-a-half-hour period.

Inspector Steve Davey, of Operation Remedy, said: “Cron has never offered any explanation for his actions and it was only by sheer luck that nobody was seriously injured or killed.

“While no one was hurt, vulnerable members of the community lost a vital transport resource while the community group which owned the minibuses along with other motorists suffered a significant financial hit and the inconvenience of replacing their vehicles.”

He added: “We’re extremely grateful for the support we received from the public following our appeals. Their help in providing us with footage saved a lot of valuable police time and and provided the evidence we needed to secure this conviction.”