Two young men in balaclavas sought after Grantham Dysart Road house fire confirmed as arson

Police have confirmed they are now treating a house fire as arson following a specialist fire investigation.

The incident on Dysart Road, in Grantham, occurred shortly before midnight on Tuesday, July 1, causing significant damage to a property’s roof and first floor, as well as affecting a neighbouring home.

“The family of the property affected have been displaced indefinitely as a result of this fire, which thankfully did not cause any injuries,” said a spokesperson.

“This is largely down to the swift actions by the neighbours in Dysart Road who acted very quickly in alerting the fire service and banging on doors to get people to safety; had they not, we could easily have been talking about fatalities, so there is a huge thank you from us.”

Police are actively seeking information about two young men seen in the area between 11.15pm and 11.45pm that night.

Witnesses describe them wearing white balaclavas and black clothing, riding mid-sized electric bikes.

Authorities want to identify these individuals to aid their inquiries and are urging anyone who has dashcam or CCTV footage, especially showing them without balaclavas, to get in touch.

Police say they are still investigating the incident as standalone, but keeping an open mind about whether it is linked to other fires in the area recently.

The affected family remains displaced indefinitely due to the fire’s damage.

A fundraiser has been launched to support them. Investigations continue, and police are keen to gather all relevant evidence to bring those responsible to justice.

Anyone with information should email NSKCID@Lincs.police.uk quoting incident 13 of July 2.