Police are hunting a firebug after a prison officer's car was torched in North Lanarkshire.
We told how the motor went up in flames in the car park of maximum security Shotts Prison on Sunday evening.
The blaze, on Newmill and Canthill road, is being treated as deliberate by police as they probe the suspicious attack.
Officers and fire crews raced to the scene when the alarm was raised at around 7pm.
The inferno was put out safely, with no injuries reported.
Police probing the fire say enquiries are ongoing 'to establish the full circumstances'.
Officers are urging anyone with information or witnesses to come forward.
Detective Inspector Kenny Dalrymple, of Lanarkshire CID, said: "Thankfully nobody has been injured as a result of this thoughtless act.
“We are treating the fire as deliberate and I would ask if you were in the area at the time and noticed anyone acting suspicious that you get in contact with officers.
“If you were driving in the area and have any dashcam footage that could assist with our investigation I would urge you to come forward.
“Police can be contacted by calling 101 quoting incident number 2912 of Sunday, 8 November, 2020.”
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) last night confirmed that the targeted vehicle belonged to a member of staff.
A spokesman told the Record: “We can confirm that a member of staff’s vehicle was set on fire in HMP Shotts’ car-park.
"No-one was injured.
“It was dealt with by the fire service and is now in the hands of the police.
“The vast majority of staff who work in the prison at the weekends are prison officers rather than civilian staff.”
A Scottish Fire and Rescue spokesman confirmed the incident happened on Sunday evening.
He said: “We were alerted to a vehicle fire at Shotts Prison at 6.35pm on Sunday and one appliance attended the incident.
“It is now a police matter.”
