Lorry destroyed in random arson attack

The £120,000 specialist vehicle which was parked close to a residential home on the North Circular Road was destroyed, in the early hours of last Thursday morning when arsonists threw liquid on it and set it alight.

The £120,000 vehicle was parked outside a member of staff’s house.

Around 2am on Thursday, he heard the window being smashed and within a few moments the vehicle was up in flames.

Director at the Lurgan-based firm, Marsden Recovery Specialist Kieran Marsden, said they cannot understand why they were targeted.

He said: “It seems to be a random act of vandalism, at least we hope so.

“It was frightening for him.”

The company has only one other specialist truck with a crane .

He said that it will take six months to replace the vehicle and they are concerned about the effect it will have on their business.

“These trucks aren’t readily available so it’s going to hurt our business,” Mr Marsden said. “We really need to have two on the road so it will cause problems.”

Mr Marsden added: “There are a lot of overhanging trees around there and the fire could have spread quickly. There’s a retirement home just across the road and I’m sure it caused them a lot of distress as well in the early hours of the morning.”

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said: “Two Fire Appliances from Lisburn were deployed to the scene following the report of the fire.

“Firefighters using a hosereel jet and a CAF jet dealt with the incident.

“NIFRS finished at the scene at 2.55am and the fire is being treated as deliberate.”

Police are appealing for witnesses.

The number to call is 101 - quote reference 101 of 09/06/16.

John Miller of TUV said: “Marsden Recovery have offered their services for decades in NI. To lose a vehicle will hit their business hard.”