A man was found lying on the street "on fire" after a suspected arson attack at a barber shop. Police, firefighters, paramedics and the ambulance service were scrambled to the scene in Westerhope, Newcastle, on Tuesday morning.
Four people were rushed to hospital following the incident, with two of them suffering from serious injuries. Cops say they are treating the incident as arson and are appealing to anyone with any information to come forward.
Neighbours told Chronicle Live they heard shouting and saw a "man on fire" in the road. One person said they witnessed a passing lorry driver jump out of their vehicle and use a fire extinguisher on the man.
They said: "The lorry driver was the first one there trying to help. He'd grabbed a fire extinguisher from the lorry and was trying to help a man who was on fire in the road. Lots of people quickly came to help."
Another resident said: "We heard screaming and footsteps and saw a man lying in the road. There were people trying to help."
On Wednesday morning, a police cordon remained around Amed's barber shop on Stamfordham Road. A police van was parked up at the scene and items had been left on the ground outside. Two people were discharged on Tuesday. The other two patients remain in hospital.
A spokesperson said the force was alerted to a report of a fire at a premises on Stamfordham Road in Newcastle at 10.05am. They said: "Officers and emergency services attended the scene and four people were taken to hospital.
"Two people were discharged yesterday, while two remain in hospital for treatment. An investigation into the cause of the fire was launched and at this time officers are treating it as suspected arson.
"The fire has since been extinguished but a cordon remains in place and additional officers remain in the area, carrying out door-to -door enquiries and offering reassurance to residents.
"Enquiries are on-going into the incident and anyone with any CCTV footage or information is asked to dial 101 or report via our website’s ‘Tell us Something’ function, quoting log NP-20230523-0301."
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