The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Cars torched in city centre firebug attack
Residents woken with banging sounds after the first car was set alight
Four vehicles were torched in Dundee city centre during the early hours of yesterday.
Police said three vehicles may have been set on fire deliberately and that a fourth was destroyed when the fire spread to it.
Residents in Trades Lane were woken by banging sounds, which one claimed sounded like gunshots, after a Nissan Micra was set on fire around 4.30am.
The flames then spread to a Subaru parked next to car and it was also consumed by the flames.
Around the same time an orange KTM motorcycle was set on fire in neighbouring Allan Lane.
Both incidents have been confirmed as deliberate by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland said they “strongly believe” the incidents are linked.
Then around 5.30am a black Mazda car was on fire in Bellfield Street.
A Police Scotland spokesman said this may be linked to the earlier fires.
He said: “As this was some time later and some distance away we are not certain if it is linked to the earlier incident.
“It has not been confirmed that this fire was deliberate but, given the earlier incident in the city centre, it is being considered as a possibility.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said three appliances fought the fires on Trades Lane.
SENIOR FIRE OFFICER GORDON PRYDE
A further appliance went to the fire on Bellfield Street.
Gordon Pryde, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service local senior officer for Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross, described the blazes as “a danger to life”.
He said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has a very clear, zero tolerance approach to deliberate fireraising because it puts our communities at great risk.
“Deliberately setting a fire is an entirely needless act and can present a danger to life, property and the environment.
“Those who set fires must understand that their actions can have devastating effects.
“This is why we continually work to educate members of the public on the very real dangers of fire-setting and try to lay bare the fact that every deliberate fire has victims, costs and consequences.
“We will continue to work very closely with our police and local authority partners to ensure that those responsible are identified and dealt with accordingly.”
Dundee FC confirmed the Subaru belonged to the Dens Park side but the club declined to comment further.
It is understood the car was not being used by one of the team’s players.
The car has been loaned to the club by Autosales Garage in Kirriemuir.
One witness said she was woken by a sound like gunshots at around 4.20am.
The woman, whose home overlooks the scene, said: “The banging was really loud. To begin with I thought it was gunshot. It was really alarming. However, when I looked out the window I saw the two cars on fire.”
Anyone with any information should contact Police Scotland on 101 or speak to any officer.
Alternatively information can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Deliberately setting a fire is an entirely needless act and can present a danger to life, property and the environment.