Arson attack on charity warehouse destroys Syrian aid shipment

'The people of Syria need this aid - they have nothing, no water or anything'

The aftermath of the arson fire (Incidents on Teesside & County Durham/Facebook)

A charity shipment containing aid for people in Syria has been destroyed in an arson attack, police have confirmed.

The entire shipment of donations, including clothes, tents and food, is feared to have been destroyed at the warehouse fire on Task Industrial Estate, on Task Road, Portrack, Stockton.

Zaheer Iqbal, a volunteer for Islamic charity One Ummah, told the Teesside Gazette: “This is devastating news. We can’t get anywhere near the warehouse to check the damage yet because it’s being treated as a crime scene.

“We use the warehouse to pack food, blankets, pillows, tents and clothing for the people in Syria whose lives have been devastated.

“Where the fire started was where we were storing the blankets, pillows and tents.

“We think about 30% of the shipment has been destroyed by fire but the rest is probably severely smoke damaged.”

Fire at Task Industrial Estate opposite Tecaz on Portrack Lane in Stockton (Photo's sent in by a follower)

Posted by Incidents on Teesside & County Durham on Sunday, 20 December 2015

Stuart Simpson, the watch manager at Stockton Fire Station, told the paper that items not destroyed by the fire would likely be totally smoke damaged.

One Ummah has been established for two years, and has already sent contains of aid to Syria.

Mr Iqbal added: “The people of Syria need this aid - they have nothing, no water or anything.

“This is going to make us stronger and more determined as a community.

“We’re not going to bow down to any malicious people who are going to do this.”