by Hayley Robinson

hrobinson@thekmgroup.co.uk

Three people have been arrested in connection with an attack which left a young family in fear of their lives.

Two women aged 20 and 24, and a 23-year-old man, who are all from the Chatham area were arrested on Sunday evening in connection with a fire at a house in Walderslade Road late on Friday night.

Kim Wells, 30, and her four children aged 12, 10, six and nine months, moved in with relatives after a front fence was set alight, two days before.

It proved to be the right decision. Kim returned home two days later after a neighbour telephoned to say fire crews has returned to tackle a front porch blaze.

The family’s pets – two Staffordshire bull terriers, a cat and two birds – were inside but were unharmed.
Everything in the family home, Kim said, has been ruined by smoke.

She said: “If we’d been at home my kids and I would have been asleep so we would probably be dead."
A neighbour who asked not to be named said: “It’s purely by luck they weren’t in the house at the time."
Medway Police are investigating the incident, which happened at about 11.30pm on Friday and is being treated as suspicious.
A spokesman said: “It appears that the fire was started at the door of the house. A passer-by alerted Kent Fire and Rescue Service. “

• Anyone with information about the incidentshould contact Medway Police on 01634 79263 7or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.