Nether Edge: Video shows car being 'firebombed' in Sheffield, as owner asks why police are closing case

The video was shared by the vehicle’s owner, who is angry that police are looking to close the case less than three weeks after the car went up in flames, citing a lack of evidence.

In this clip, a driver pulls up in a grey car beside a parked blue vehicle, and someone briefly gets out of the passenger side of the grey car. Moments later, as the grey car pulls away, flames can be seen leaping from the blue vehicle.

Although the quality is far from perfect, the victim believes it should be sufficient to track down the vehicle and identify the culprits.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the arson attack in Nether Edge on Sunday, June 19, at around 4pm.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze but not before it had caused major damage to the car.

The owner of the blue car, who wishes to remain anonymous, told how the fire service initially reported the incident to police and said someone would be along later.

When he got the CCTV footage from a neighbour showing exactly what had happened, he dialled 999 and asked for a police officer to attend as soon as possible, explaining how he had been left feeling ‘scared’ and ‘vulnerable’ knowing the culprits were still at large and could return at any point to target his house.

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Despite this, he says it was not until Tuesday, two days later, that he received a call from police, with an officer eventually turning up on the Thursday and taking a statement over the phone the following day, Friday, July 24.

He assumed that with the video footage police would quickly be able to track down and apprehend the culprits, so he was shocked to be told two weeks later by text that the officer was liaising with his sergeants to have the investigation closed, pending further lines of enquiry.

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The text message from the officer stated that there was ‘incredibly limited evidence which does NOT identify a suspect at all’, adding ‘I have identified a suspect via a line of enquiry which is weak at best’.

The car owner said: “I feel let down by the police who have treated me very badly since my car was firebombed. I don’t feel safe knowing that whoever did this is still out there, despite the CCTV footage clearly showing what happened.”

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South Yorkshire Police said its records showed that, contrary to what the victim had said, an officer had made contact the next day, a statement was taken over the phone on June 23 and the officer visited him on June 25 to collect the CCTV.

A force spokesperson added: “Extensive CCTV and ANPR work was conducted to try and identify the suspect and the vehicle they were in. A person was also questioned in connection with the incident.

“The officer remained in contact with the victim via telephone and text message, and he was informed that the crime would be filed unless new evidence came to light.

“If anyone does have any information about this incident, please report this online, through our live chat, or by calling 101. The incident number to quote is 677 of June 19.”