Father and son among six arrested over sick Grenfell Tower bonfire video

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A father and son are among six men being questioned by police about the burning of a model of Grenfell Tower.

Bobbi Connell, 19, was named by his grandfather, who said he was ”utterly shocked” to see him in the video posted online.

His grandfather David Connell said: “It’s an appalling thing to do given the tragic loss of life.”

Fury: Bobbi Connell, 19, and father Cliff handed themselves in

He told MailOnline: “It’s in dreadfully bad taste and utterly shocking, and I don’t condone it at all. I don’t know what they were thinking. What were they doing?”

The film was apparently shot in the back garden of the house that the father and son are believed to share in South Norwood, where there is an England flag on a pole.

'Disgusting': viewers of the clip have been left outraged

Police searched the address on Tuesday afternoon, and were seen carrying evidence bags inside.

Aerial images of the property appeared to show charred patches of grass along with an England flag lying across the rear of the garden.

Officers were also spotted rifling through bins outside the home.

Shocking: the film was apparently shot in the back garden of a South Norwood home believed to be shared by Bobbi Cornell and his father Clifford Smith
Dean / SplashNews.com

A neighbour said dozens of people arrived for the bonfire before leaving the party at around 9.30pm on Saturday. He said: “It was a big fire, that’s all I could see from my garden. I had no idea it was a Grenfell effigy …. The family were there with kids and men drinking and letting off fireworks.

Police rifle through bins outside the home in South Norwood
PA

The neighbour, 77, added: “They have an England flag flying all year round so I guess you can say they are committed to their national identity. We are in shock and it’s a disgusting thing to do. No rational person would do that.”

A police officer carries an evidence bag away from the property
PA

Another member of the five is believed to be Paul Bussetti. His family said today they were scared for their safety after the joke “got out of hand” after “a few too many drinks”.

A close relative told the news website: “We’re in so much danger now. They didn’t want it to go this far. It’s not what it was. They are not racist. It’s been blown out of proportion.”

The South Norwood home
Steve Finn Photography

The men handed themselves in at a police station late last night and were arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. They were interviewed by detectives from the Operation Northleigh investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire.

The offence they are suspected of committing covers intentional “harassment, alarm or distress” caused via the use of “threatening, abusive or insulting” words or signs.

Three of the men, aged 19, 46 and 49, are said to be from South Norwood, one 49-year-old man is from Lambeth and a 55-year-old is from Beckenham.

A 19-year-old man become the sixth person arrested in connection with the video after handing himself in at a police station on Tuesday, Scotland Yard said.

The footage posted online showed a large model marked “Grenfell Tower”, complete with paper figures at the windows, being set on fire over a metal drum. In the clip people can be heard laughing and making mocking remarks as the model burns. The video has been widely condemned.

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