Teens charged over market blaze

Three teenage boys have been charged in connection with a fire which ripped through Dundee’s Hilltown Indoor Market.

The blaze on September 12 gutted the building and the neighbouring Fit4Less gym.

Three males, aged 13, 15 and 16, have now been charged in connection with the fire, police confirmed last night.

A spokesman said: “Police Scotland can confirm that two boys aged 13 and 15 and a 16-year-old male have been charged in connection with a fire at the indoor market, Main Street, Dundee on Wednesday September 12.

“The boys aged 13 and 15 will be reported to the children’s reporter and the procurator fiscal.

“A report will (also) be submitted to the procurator fiscal in respect of the 16-year- old male. Inquiries are continuing.”

The market closed in December 2016 but was about to reopen as home to the charity Tayside Furniture Re-Use Network, which refurbishes unwanted furniture so it can help those in need.

The charity also wanted to pay for its upkeep by renting out stalls to individual traders.

However, the devastating fire has left those storing goods in the market in anticipation of it reopening, tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket.

The blaze was the third in Dundee in as many nights last month.

Braeview Academy was destroyed by a fire the night before, following a farm building at Strathmartine going up in flames.

Nobody was injured in any of the incidents, which are not thought to be connected, although a number of animals were killed in the farm fire.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. A firefighter at the scene of the blaze in Hilltown, Dundee, last month.