Heroic girl, 9, stops wildfire after blaze breaks out at cricket club

Heroic girl, 9, stops wildfire after blaze breaks out at cricket club Images how fire ripping through trees and bushes at Stockport Cricket Club which was first noted by a nine-year-old girl who ran to get help with the the game halted A nine-year-old girl's quick-thinking stopped a wildfire from spreading after a blaze broke out at a cricket club in Stockport. Bar manager Rebecca Evans, at Stockport Cricket Club, said her daughter, who plays junior cricket, came inside to tell her of the blaze while she was serving customers on July 18. Images show the fire ripping through bushes and trees on the edge of the cricket ground, which borders Cale Green Park, and spectators to be moved away with the game stopped for 45 minutes. And club officials have reportedly said that it is only the latest in a series of incidents where it has been targeted by fires and vandalism. Ms Evans said that after her daughter alerted her to the fire she called 999 and could see the fire growing. "I went out and it was just a fire," she told the BBC. "I started walking towards it while I was phoning 999 and it was just getting bigger and bigger." She told how her daughter had been "scared" with children moved to the clubhouse to ensure they were safe as everyone waited for the fire brigade to arrive. It appears that the edge of the cricket pitch backs onto a bushes in Cale Green Park and people often gather behind where it is difficult to see them. It comes as extreme temperatures have hit the country this summer with blazes breaking out up and down the country due to tinder dry vegetation. It is reported that Greater Manchester Police is looking into the reports of vandalism and Stockport Council is also examining ways to make the area more safe. The club has reported incidents in recent years of damage to benches and walls, fires, trespassing and racist graffiti. Club treasurer Herman Schurink reportedly said cases of vandalism are increasing over recent years and that up to £700 has had to spent on repairing a wall. And he added that if it wasn't for volunteers that work would have cost thousands of pounds. "We've got to sell 1,000 pints of beer to make that money back," he said, while he believes that the answer is to have more secure fencing put up. And a post on Stockport Cricket Club Bar & Function Room from July 18 read: "The corner of Cale Green park that backs onto our property has caused us problems for well over a year now. "It’s quite a big open space once you get through the bushes. Kids cause so much trouble for us here last year they were throwing lit cans over the wall at our cricketers. Climbing over and breaking our benches they even knocked down this wall that’s behind the fire pictured. "They’ve cost us so much money in damages, repairs and vandal paint to try and stop it. This was today at 5:40pm while the cricket was on. Obviously the game had to be stopped this fire was quite big and actually on our side of the wall not the parks. My guess is aerosol cans lit and thrown (just going off what I’ve previously seen). "Now all it would take to deter this is getting rid of a lot of the bushes in this corner and ploughing the soil so the whole corner is an open space and not a hidden place for kids to set fire. Only two months ago I had to call the fire brigade out to a large fire on the parks property on the opposite side of this wall. "It’s just so sad to see all the time and it’s getting worse and im honestly scared one of these kids will get seriously hurt one day!" The Mirror has contacted Greater Manchester Police and Stockport Council for comment.