Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Police Treat Coatbridge Car Fire as Arson After Blaze Reaches Home

Investigators face limits from unclear doorbell footage despite the victim's reports of months of threats.

Overview

  • Around 2:15 a.m. on December 27, a car parked on Courtney McBride’s driveway in Coatbridge was set alight, and the flames spread to the front of her home.
  • McBride and her six-year-old son escaped without injury after a neighbour forced entry to alert them, and they fled out the back of the house.
  • Doorbell-camera footage shows a hooded figure dousing the Audi A3 with an accelerant and fleeing, but the attacker’s face is not visible.
  • Police Scotland says the fire is being treated as wilful and enquiries are ongoing, and Scottish Fire and Rescue reported no casualties after extinguishing the blaze.
  • McBride reports months of abusive messages from a man known to her, including a threat to torch her car, with a prior police inquiry finding no crime as officers now conduct patrols near her home.