Arson attacks in north Bristol: Charity issues statement after losing half its minibuses

Despite doing absolutely everything possible to cater to all those who would usually need the service of the charity, Four Towns and Vale Link Community Transport, the arson attacks in north Bristol on Sunday mean that some of “the most vulnerable” people amongst us have been left with no transport or help.

The spate of arson attacks on Sunday morning destroyed a total of 23 vehicles in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke, Patchway, and Stoke Gifford, with over half of the Four Towns and Vale Link Community Transport fleet being affected.

Chairman of the charity, Dick Whittington, says: “Thirteen of our vehicles were damaged by fire and only one of these might be repairable. This is half of our fleet. Other vehicles were also damaged including two vehicles belonging to the Bristol Methodist Church, too. Our insurance should cover us for the loss of the vehicles, but this is currently in the hands of the Insurer’s Assessors.”

Unfortunately, while awaiting help from insurers, there are a lot of logistics to wade through in order to be able to continue providing help to those in the community who need it most.

Four Towns and Vale Link Community Transport does a wonderful job providing community transport to elderly people, special needs schools, and anyone who can’t access usual transport services. They make over 90,000 trips each year taking people to the supermarket, work or education, lunches on social visits and local trips, or GP and hospital appointments.

This lunchtime, Mr Whittington released a statement to say that many people had managed to still get to their appointments and schools, but a few had to miss out.

He said: “We have been able to carry out most of today's journeys but were unable to provide transport for the Disability Photography Group in Yate, two school services, a gentleman in a wheelchair to Paul's Place, and an elderly person going to the exercise centre.”

Despite people within the local community offering to help and local organisations stepping in to provide some short-term relief, one of the biggest problems that the charity faces are that many of those who need help also need specially adapted vehicles. Naturally, this isn’t something that can be found or solved easily.

“Because most of our vehicles are modified to be wheelchair accessible, you can’t just go down the road and get them off the shelf,” Mr Whittington tells Bristol World.

“We’ve managed to organise things so that most of our trips can be done but there aren’t enough resources to quite cover everything. I hope that things will get easier as we go along and we find ways to help but the danger is that we will have to cut back for a few weeks. Getting vehicles modified could take at least three months, possibly more.”

Mr Whittington tells us how the logistical nightmare hits those most vulnerable, such as taking children to special needs schools who need modified vehicles.

“Whether you’re talking about young people or old people, they are the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of society,” he says.

“This is a despicable and mindless attack on a charity that provides a vital service to so many people, young and old. Our team of dedicated staff and volunteers are doing everything they can to keep the service going, as we know how important it is to all our users.

“There’s a lot of ingenuity and help from others so hopefully, we do better over the next few days.”

Mr Whittington says that they have received offers of help from several local organisations in respect of the loan of minibuses, for which they are very grateful.

“If we can find two or three more vehicles, that would make all the difference,” he adds.