A TOWER BLOCK which is subject to a safety review in the light of the Grenfell disaster is now under 24-hour guard as police launch an arson investigation.

Slough Borough Council has put security guards around Broom House in Langley after a third fire occurred at the site last Friday around 11pm.

Thames Valley Police now says it is treating all three fires, two of which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, as arson with intent to endanger life.

All three fires took place in a bin at the bottom of a trash chute in Reddington Drive.

This week residents said that whilst they welcomed the security, they did not trust the council over claims that their cladding was not a risk. It came after one resident took a sample of the polystyrene based insulation and set it alight to demonstrate it was flammable for a national newspaper. The council said last week that none of its own buildings contained the Aluminium Composite Materials (ACM) found at Grenfell.

Charlotte Little, 29, a mother of one at the block, said: “Last Friday that alarm [on the ground floor] didn’t go off.”

She said of the three fires: “I’m worried about my daughter. I have been in this building five years and this has never happened until the Grenfell tragedy happened.”

Christine Wearn, 54, who has lived at Broom House for 31 years said: “The police and the fire service were round here Saturday morning, apart from that we haven’t seen anyone since. It’s a lack of communication.”

The council said that although polystyrene was flammable on its own, it was sandwiched between brick and covered in concrete-render solution, stopping it from igniting. This is unlike Grenfell where all three materials were flammable.

A spokesperson said: “We will send it for testing but at the moment the government and the BRE (Building Research Establishment) are focusing on ACM.”

She added that an independent investigation had already begun at Broom House and would investigate further safety measures, including a sprinkler system.

She said housing officers were in regular discussions with residents about their concerns.