Virtually no one on the streets of Stamford Hill which with 21 Hebrew schools and 56 synagogues is home to

Virtually no one on the streets of Stamford Hill, which with 21 Hebrew schools and 56 synagogues is home to the largest Hasidic population after Israel and New York, was willing to discuss the attacks.In a group made visible to the irrational and intolerant by the distinctive dress of Hasidic men – long black coats and tall black hats – the message was one of calm in the face of adversity. Rabbi Abraham Pinter said: “People are obviously concerned and they are being more vigilant, checking smoke-alarm batteries and so on But they are not panicking – nobody is moving away. The belief is that these attacks are not the work of an organised group. It is more likely to be one person working on their own, possibly with a mental health problem.”Detectives agree that the fires are probably the work of a lone, deranged individual rather than the sinister activities of organised anti-Semites. They have released an image from a CCTV camera of a woman of Afro-Caribbean origin, aged about 35, who they believe may be setting the fires.

She was filmed shortly after one of the attacks last month by a camera at a nearby bank.The arsonist has so far restricted the attacks to using a small amount of flammable liquid, causing minor damage, but in at least one incident the flames spread across carpets inside the door. Smoke forced the occupants – a family of 13 inside, including six children – to take refuge in the garden.At least two of the attacks happened in a single street and all but one were between 12.30am and 6.30am while the victims were asleep. The other fire was started at about 12.30pm.But while suspicion centres on a single individual, fears remain that a larger or more sinister criminal enterprise could be behind the fires. Anxiety has been further heightened by the stabbing last October of a 20-year-old Jewish man on a bus by a Muslim fundamentalist.Detective Inspector Dave Whellams, who is leading the investigation and is based at the Hackney Community Safety Unit, said: “There is no doubt that this is causing a scare among the Jewish community.

Although these attacks appear to be at the lower end of the scale, and carried out by an individual with local knowledge, they still have the potential to cause harm. There is always that concern about just what an individual is prepared to do.” Police have stepped up patrols in the area but, such is the sensitivity surrounding the campaign, officers refuse to reveal the streets were the attack took place.At the house seen by The Independent, where the arsonist struck three weeks ago, leaving burn marks on the door, the occupants did not want to discuss their ordeal. But one member of the Hasidic community said: “There is a mixture of fear and anger that we are being targeted in this way but also concern about getting mixed up with the race riots in Burnley and Oldham or events in the Middle East That is not the case. We don’t want to become a cause c?bre because of the actions of what we hope is a sad and deluded individual We’d rather be left alone.”. Parents of young children were urged yesterday to fill in their garden ponds after an 18-month-old boy became the fifth victim to drown in one this year.

Parents of young children were urged yesterday to fill in their garden ponds after an 18-month-old boy became the fifth victim to drown in one this year.
Robbie Lambert was playing near the ornamental fish pond at his home in Thornaby, Teesside, when he fell into the water He died later in hospital. The tragedy underlined the threat to young children of drowning, the third most common cause of accidental death at home among the under-fives.Jane Eason, spokeswoman of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “This tragic accident highlights the dangers of garden ponds. The majority happen during July and August, which gives us great concern with the holidays being just around the corner Water holds a very big fascination for children … if people do have a young child and a garden pond, they really should think about filling the pond in until at least the children are a little bit older.”Now that the better weather is here, and the summer holidays upon us, parents should be supervising children as much as possible. Children can drown in just a few seconds.”Robbie’s parents Robert, 38, and Lindsey, 32, were described by neighbours yesterday as devoted to their son and “always playing” with him.Mr Lambert had called an ambulance crew to their home at 3.38pm on Wednesday.