A WOMAN and her neighbours had a lucky escape after arsonists set fire to a garden shed.

The fire at Elaine Howell’s house in Marlbrook, Plas Madoc, totally destroyed the wooden building and hundreds of pounds worth of fishing gear being stored inside.

Elaine said it could have been much worse if flames had spread to a nearby gas pipe.

The drama unfolded just before 3am yesterday.

Mrs Howell, 60, said: “My son James, who is 22, was in the back bedroom and working on his computer when he heard what sounded like rain coming from the back garden.

“It must have been the fire crackling he could hear because when he looked out of the window the shed was well ablaze.

“He could then hear a number of explosions which must have been aerosol cans going off inside the shed.”

She added: “The flames gutted the shed and also damaged the side door and windows at the empty house at the end of my garden.

“A household waste bin was destroyed but luckily on Sunday we had moved another bin, which was full of garden waste like tree cuttings.

“If that had caught fire it would have spread to the gas pipe of the house behind, and if that had happened the whole area could have gone up.

“The main thing is that nobody was injured.

“There were all sorts of things in the shed but my son’s fishing gear was the biggest loss.

“It was worth about £700 to £800.

“I believe the fire was deliberately started and the police are investigating.”

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service sent appliances from Wrexham to deal with the incident which was brought under control just before 3.40am.

A police spokesman has confirmed officers are investigating the incident.