£47,000 worth of damage to vintage cars in Openshaw

September 13, 2012, 2:10 pm

Vintage cars were set alight at an Openshaw garage causing more than £47,000 worth of damage. 

The incident happened at around 11.15pm on Tuesday 21 August 2012 at the Bellsize Garage on Cornwall Street.

Two offenders forced part of the metal fencing back to gain access to the yard surrounding the garage.

View full article on Crime And Justice

They then smashed the windows of three cars and poured an accelerant through the window of each vehicle, before setting them on fire.

The premises, which is a mechanical car repair garage, also specialises in repairing and restoring vintage cars.

Two of the cars set alight were vintage Ford Zephyrs, one of which was valued at £40,000. The third car was a Renault Kangoo.

The fire service attended and extinguished the fire and police are now appealing for any witnesses to contact them.

Police Constable Laura Bristow from the North Manchester division said: “Arson is an extremely serious crime and one that we treat as such.

“More than £47,000 worth of damage was caused to the three cars set alight. However, fortunately for the owner, the fire service was alerted and able to extinguish the flames before they spread to the main building, where even more damage could have been caused.

“It appears this was a targeted attack, but inquiries are still ongoing to establish the reasons behind this. We will not tolerate such mindless acts in our community and are asking for anyone with information to come forward and speak to us.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 3502 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.