Vandals set skip on fire

EMERGENCY services attended a Dundee bingo hall after a fire broke out caused by an arson attack.

A skip behind Mecca Bingo i n the Eclipse Leisure Park, Douglas Road, was set on fire by vandals on Monday evening.

Staff were alerted to the fire at 8pm when smoke began to come through the ventilation system.

They switched the system off to stop smoke entering the club.

One witness told the Tele she had asked to leave the building but staff said not to vacate the premises.

A spokeswoman f or Mecca said: “The ventilation system was switched off which stopped smoke entering the building and the fire service was called to extinguish the fire.

“It was not necessary for players to leave as the fire was being contained by the emergency services.

“It was not necessary to evacuate the building or suspend the session.

“Since play continued as normal, refunds were not given.”

Lee Bertie was diagnosed with the terminal illness in 2014 and spoke previously of his fears that playing football had given him the disease.

He was a popular junior player in Dundee and had spells at Broughty Athletic and Lochee United.

In recent years, he moved to Kirriemuir with his wife Claire, son Cole and daughters Lois-Lily and Murran.

Despite his debilitating condition, he had continued to work from home in the IT sector.

Ronnie McKenzie, the president of Broughty Athletic, said no one had a bad word to say about Lee and said the club would be hoping to pay a fitting tribute to him in the future.

He said: “We have heard that Lee passed away yesterday morning and it’s a total shame. He was a lovely lad, Lee.

“Everybody knew what Lee had been going through, but at the same time it was still a shock to hear he had died.

“It’s a complete tragedy — he’s got a young family and wife.

“Lee was respected by everybody and nobody would have a bad word to say about him.

“He was at the club for a good few years and will be sadly missed.

“I think Lee was up at the end of last season for one of the games and we will be in touch with his wife as there is stuff we would like to do for him in his memory.”

Larry Duncan, club secretary at Lochee United, paid tribute to Lee, who he described as a “family man”.

He said: “I got the phone call yesterday and I was really, really sad to hear the news.

“Most of the guys who played with

A DUNDEE footballer has died at the age of 39 after a battle with Motor Neurone Disease.