CROSSKEYS villagers watched a fire rip through their community gardens last night where a shed full of children's toys "burned down in minutes".

Paul Ankin, 62, of Waunfawr Park Road, spotted the flames at around 8.20pm, Friday, November 3, initially thinking it was the bowls club on fire.

He says the gardens at Green Flag-winning Waunfawr Park are a volunteer enterprise and the result of "tireless work" over a number of years.

South Wales Argus: The shed was full of children's toys

Firefighters from South Wales Fire and Rescue attended the incident and brought the fire under control. Mr Ankin, who lives opposite the park, says they were lucky the flames did not latch onto the trees nearby.

"Our kids are 17 and 19 and we used to take them to the gardens when they were younger," Mr Ankin said.

A video posted to a local group on Facebook on the night shows billows of smoke, towering high above the collapsed remains of the shed. 

"The volunteers are a wonderful community group at the heart of the village. It's them who keep the village going, so we're gutted to see their hard work go up in flames," he said.

"The community is quite clearly devastated by this. There are concerns about anti-social behaviour in the area - but this would be the worst."

South Wales Argus: Rubble and remains

Photographs taken this morning show the toy shed has been reduced to a pile of blackened remains.

The village is now "demanding action" from the authorities on antisocial behaviour after suffering an apparent arson incident, Mr Ankin said.

The Argus has asked South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, Gwent Police and Caerphilly County Borough Council for comment.