Police renew appeal after football pitch suffered £300k worth of damge in vandal attack

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Police have renewed their appeal for information after a blaze caused around £300,000 worth of damage to a community football team’s pitch.We told in Wednesday’s Observer how chiefs at Dunipace FC had been left “heartbroken” to discover that the 4G pitch at their Westfield Park home, located in Townhouse Street in Denny, was set ablaze.The fire, which caused an estimated £300,000 of damage, was reported at around 8am on Saturday, May 20.The East of Scotland league side’s Facebook page posted a photo of the badly burned pitch on Saturday, just hours before it was due to host a match.Police launched a probe and have renewed their appeal for information.

Inspector Colin Sutherland said: “We’re treating the fire as wilful and our enquiries are ongoing. This fire has caused a significant amount of damage and will have a lasting impact on the local community.“We believe the fire was burning for a time before we were called and I am appealing for anyone who was in the area on Friday, May 19, into Saturday, May 20, who may have seen anything that could assist us to get in touch.

Additionally, I would appeal to anyone who was driving in the area and who may have dash cam footage which could help to contact us.” Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service extinguished the fire and there were no reports of any injuries.Club secretary Stephen Tait said: “To find the pitch vandalised by fire on Saturday morning prior to our youth matches commencing was heartbreaking for everyone involved at the club.“The time and work put in by the committee and wider community to upgrade Westfield Park to a facility we could all be proud of took years to achieve and for the surface to be vandalised