Arson attack at Ballymena business condemned 'at a time when people are already struggling'

Firefighters were sent to Pennybridge industrial estate in the town at about 2:10 am today.

Several cars were on fire and the blaze was tackled by two appliances from Ballymena fire station.

Firefighters using breathing apparatus extinguished the fire and prevented it spreading to nearby buildings.

In a statement the PSNI said it was understood that nine vehicles at a car repair business were damaged by the fire which was reported to police shortly after 2am.

The statement added that Investigating officers are keen to hear from witnesses or anyone with information or any persons who may have captured dashcam footage in and around the area at the time.

Please call 101, quoting reference 126 08/06/22.

SDLP councillor Eugene Reid has condemned the arson attack.

He said: "I completely condemn this arson attack outside a local business.

"This has caused huge damage to a number of vehicles and given the scale of the arson attack and that it took place in a built-up area we’re lucky that this fire didn’t spread and nobody was seriously hurt or worse.

“At a time when people are already struggling this senseless damage will have a huge impact on this business and the owners of these vehicles.

"This is devastating news for them to wake up to today and I hope those affected will be able to recover quickly from this setback.

“I’d like to thank the fire service for their efforts in quickly and safely extinguishing this blaze and I’d ask anyone who knows anything about what took place here to come forward and help police with their investigation.”