A takeaway owner has described her shock at discovering a digger on fire just metres from her business last night.
Zoie Fong runs Dragon Palace on Chepstow Road in Newport and noticed the JCB on fire next to her premises last night just before 7pm.
"It was around 6.50pm when my chef noticed a spark from the kitchen window and shouted 'fire, call the police'," she told WalesOnline.
"While my husband called the police we ran out to the front door and saw the digger on fire. There’s some road works going on and the digger was there."
Ms Fong, whose premises thankfully avoided any damage, said there were a "few loud blasts" followed by "lots of black smoke."
"My driver who is outside the shop, did notice a man with hoodie who was squatting at the digger, pushing something underneath the digger, when the window of the digger burst.
"The man ran away and the digger start to burn furiously. A few loud blasts happened with lots of black smoke. Then the police arrived."
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service has since confirmed they believe the fire was started deliberately.
"At approximately 7.02pm on Thursday, November 12, we received reports of a vehicle fire in Somerton, Newport," a statement said.
"Crews from Duffryn station attended the scene and extinguished the fire.
"The incident concluded at approximately 7.20pm and is suspected to have been deliberate."
A statement from Gwent Police said: "We were called at 7pm on November 12 reporting a JCB on fire on Chepstow Road in Newport. Fire service attended."
