Man arrested after car burnt out in Derry

Police are treating the incident as arson

Author: Chloe GibsonPublished 6th Oct 2023

Police have arrested a man after a car was set on fire outside a house in the Clon Elagh area of Derry.

A report was received at approximately 11.05pm on Thursday, October 5 that a car was on fire in the driveway of a property.

A police spokesperson said: "Officers attended alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service who extinguished the blaze."

"The car was completely burnt out as a result of the fire, which we are treating as arson."

"A woman and three children were inside the house at the time, thankfully no injuries were reported. However, they were left understandably shaken by what happened."

"Our investigation is underway and the fire is believed at this time to have been ignited by a petrol bomb type device that was thrown into the boot of the vehicle."

"Officers arrested a man, aged 50, a short time later on suspicion of arson. He remains in custody at this time as enquiries are continuing."

"We are appealing to anyone with information about what happened to get in touch with us. We are also keen to hear from anyone who may have been travelling in the area shortly before or after 11pm on Thursday and saw any suspicious activity to contact us on 101, quoting reference number 2073 05/10/23."