Two cars have been torched on a residential street in Lanarkshire this month leaving local residents “terrified”.
Emergency services raced to the Kirklee Road area of Bellshill after a car was deliberately set on fire at around 12.15am on Tuesday. A picture shared with the Record showed the vehicle engulfed in flames, with a flume of black smoke seen billowing up into the sky.
Another image taken later this morning showed the burnt out shell of the vehicle, which could be seen to be completely destroyed by the blaze. The incident came just weeks after another car was deliberately set on fire on the same road, shortly after 10pm on Saturday, September 7. There were no reports of any injuries and both fires were put out by fire crews.
Speaking on Tuesday, one local resident said: “This is getting ridiculous now. It’s very worrying. This is the second time in a few weeks and the bang woke me up. It absolutely terrified me – it sounded like it was going to explode.”
Police are treating the incidents as wilful and they are appearing for information. Detective Constable Ian Dymock said: “We are fortunate that no one was hurt in these reckless acts, but the damage caused to the vehicles is significant. It is unclear whether these two incidents are linked however we are keeping an open mind at this stage and are appealing for any information which could assist with our enquiries.
“We are urging anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity in the area around the times of either of these incidents to come forward. We are particularly keen to speak with anyone who may have dash-cam footage or private CCTV from the surrounding area that could assist with our enquiries.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 0028 of September 24. Alternatively, those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 00.08am on Tuesday, September 24 to reports of a car on fire at Clydesdale Road, Bellshill. Operations Control immediately mobilised one appliance to the scene and firefighters extinguished the fire. There were no reported casualties and crews left the scene after ensuring the area was made safe.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.