Two delivery vans belonging to a popular Newry family business have been completely destroyed in an arson attack at a city centre car park.
The vehicles – owned by the long-established Shelbourne Bakery on Hill Street – were set alight late on Friday night, June 12, in the North Street car park.
Fire crews attended the scene but, despite their efforts, both vans were gutted in the blaze.
Shelbourne Bakery is a widely regarded local business, and the loss of two of its vehicles will come as a heavy blow. The destruction of the vans not only impacts the business itself, but also its staff, customers and the wider community it serves.
“It is truly saddening to see such a significant loss for a local enterprise,” Newry.LN said, describing the scene as “a grim reminder of the impact such incidents have on our community”.
The charred remains of one of the vans. Photo by Newry.LN
The attack in North Street came after an earlier incident in the Meadow area of Newry, where items were set on fire in the middle of the road at Clanrye Avenue. When fire personnel responded to that call, they were pelted with stones by youths with their faces covered. The PSNI helicopter was deployed in response.
These incidents occurred against a backdrop of several days of unrest in other parts of Northern Ireland.
A police spokesperson said: “Police received a report of two vans on fire in the North Street area of Newry at approximately 11.25pm last night , Friday 12th June.
Officers attended alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, who extinguished the blaze.
The vehicles were completely destroyed as a result of this fire – and were treating this report as arson. Thankfully, there were no reports of any injuries.
Enquiries are ongoing, and anyone who may have witnessed the fire or would have CCTV or dashcam footage to contact police on 101 quoting reference 2105 12/06/26.
Alternatively, you can submit a report online at http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/
You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/
Police say the incident is not being treated as hate related and is not believed to be linked to the recent disorder.
