Probe after old estate house goes up in flames
Neighbours believe blaze was started deliberately
Police are probing a blaze that gutted a derelict house on a Paisley estate in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Neighbours living near Hunterhill Road, in the south end of town, were woken up at around 2am as flames tore through the detached two-storey home.
Firefighters and police raced to the scene but, by the time they arrived, the fire had taken hold and completely destroyed the roof.
The gutted shell of the building was still too dangerous yesterday afternoon for fire crews to enter and investigate the cause of the blaze.
Police confirmed that they had responded to complaints of gangs of kids hanging around the abandoned home over the weekend.
And startled neighbours believe the fire must have been started deliberately.
One woman told the Paisley Daily Express: “We were woken up by the noise of the fire and when I looked outside, I couldn’t believe it had taken hold of the building so quickly.
“The flames were shooting right up into the sky and everyone in the street was up out of their beds and looking at what was happening.
“Fortunately, there’s quite a bit of land between the house and the nearest properties, so noone had to be evacuated, but it still looked like there was a lot of damage done. The roof must be completely gone.”
She added: “There’s been a group of kids in and around the derelict house recently and the police have been told about it.
“I’d be surprised if it wasn’t a deliberate fire, because I can’t see how else it could have started in an empty house.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We received a report of a fire, from the fire service, at around 2am on Tuesday.
“The area was cordoned off while the fire service attended the blaze.
“Once the building is deemed to be safe, officers will launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact police in Paisley on 101.