This 91 year-old classic car worth up to £20,000 has been destroyed in a deliberate blaze near Burnham-On-Sea.
Paul Anderson, owner of the 1927 Chevrolet Saloon AA, says he is “devastated” by the loss of the vehicle during a 5.30am break-in and fire at Darkside Customs in the village of Tarnock outside Burnham-On-Sea on Saturday (June 23rd).
The thieves stole a large quantity of tools and then set fire to the property, with Paul’s vehicle left badly damaged, as pictured above.
Speaking to Burnham-On-Sea.com, Paul said: “The car has been completely burnt out – it’s devastating to see it like this, considering the huge amounts of time that have been put in to restore it and keep it in top condition.”
“The thieves broke into the workshop to steal tools and then set the place alight, presumably to destroy any evidence, and they burned down the office and workshop where my car was parked.”
“It was in immaculate condition and the last time it was photographed was in Burnham-On-Sea at the end of the Vale Of Avalon Vintage Run earlier this month.”
Burnham-On-Sea.com took the photo below of the vehicle with Paul during the seafront event.
Paul added: “The car has been in the family for 12 years, with my in-laws initially and then when my father-in-law died I bought it. I have spent many months of work on keeping it up together.”
“I’m heart-broken and gutted that someone would do this, just to steal some tools from the workshop. The children were in tears today when I told him what had happened.”
He added: “The Police have been informed, but they said that they were too tied up with other jobs to come to us today. Hopefully the culprits will be found.”
“Sadly, though, a lot of the parts for a car like this cannot easily be found for repairs. I would have to go back to 1927 to get them.”
Fire appliances from Burnham-On-Sea, Cheddar and Taunton were called out at 5.38am on Saturday morning to tackle the blaze.
“The incident involved one workshop measuring 10m x 20m square meters of stone and asbestos sheeting construction,” said a fire spokesperson. “There was 25% fire damage involving a small office and one vehicle within the building.”
“Fire crews isolated electrics and extinguished the fire using two breathing apparatus wearers, one hosereel jet, one safety jet and a thermal image camera to check for hotspots.”
“Fire crews carried out safety procedures regarding asbestos and decontamination.”
