A BUNGALOW where a Malvern pensioner lives was minutes from destruction after a garden hedge was set alight in a suspected arson attack.

Mary Smith, aged 88, was in bed in her Charles Way home at about 10pm on Wednesday when she saw an orange glow through the curtains.

"I looked out and saw flames, and at first I thought the house next door was on fire," she said.

However it was the conifer hedgerow which divides her garden from an alleyway that was on fire, and the flames were spreading rapidly to her shed and a lean-to attached to the house.

"I called the fire brigade and then got my car out of the garage, so the firemen would be able to take their hoses through to the garden," she said.

Two fire crews from Malvern and one from Worcester arrived, as the flames were threatening the bungalow itself.

Firefighters used two hose reel jets to tackle the fire, bringing it under control in just over half an hour. Once the main fire was out, they used heat-detection equipment to make sure the fire had not penetrated the house and was smouldering in the eaves.

Neighbours offered Miss Smith accommodation for the night, but she preferred to sleep under her own roof.

The fire completely burned out about 50 feet of the hedge, and destroyed the shed and lean-to. The heat also caused Miss Smith's bedroom window to crack, and melted the plastic guttering above.

*See this week's Malvern Gazette for the full story.