A shipment of aid for Syria has been destroyed in an arson attack on a warehouse, police have confirmed.
The entire shipment of donations, including clothes, tents and food has been destroyed at the warehouse fire on Task Industrial Estate, on Task Road, Portrack, Stockton.
Zaheer Iqbal, a volunteer for Muslim 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.”
Stuart Simpson, the watch manager at Stockton Fire Station, told Teeside Gazette that items not destroyed by the fire would likely be totally smoke damaged.
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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.”
