£100k worth of cars torched

Police probe after dealer’s cars burned

By Jamie Maxwell

Published:

AFTERMATH: Cars were left wrecked after the blaze hit BMWs and minis at West Tullos.

A FIRE which damaged or destroyed seven cars owned by an Aberdeen car dealer was started deliberately.

The blaze caused more than £100,000 of damage to vehicles owned by John Clark BMW in Wellington Road.

The dealer’s cars were targeted while in the car park of neighbouring Glencraft, used for over flow parking.

Some of the prestige vehicles were destroyed and others badly damaged.

But John Clark bosses praised their staff and emergency services for their quick reactions.

Ian Henderson, the firm’s managing director, said: “The damage could have been worse but for the efforts of staff and the emergency services.”

He added: “The event is now the subject of a police and fire investigation and we cannot comment further.”

John Clark is the latest car dealer at West Tullos Industrial Estate to suffer vandalism.

At the estate’s Toyota dealership, centre principal Raymond Donald, said: “We have a lot of vandalism going on here.

“There is not much we can do to prevent it though. Garages along here are open targets.”

However, Ron Anderson, of the Ford dealership, said: “We have not had any problems, and feel quite secure in our location here.

“We have CCTV cameras covering all our cars on the forecourt and all the entrances, and these are monitored 24 hours a day.”

The cars damaged in the blaze included five BMWs and two Minis.

The cars were parked in the Glencraft furniture store car park, where John Clark rents space.

A joint police and fire service inquiry is continuing.

jmaxwell@ajl.co.uk