A BOWLING club pavilion was destroyed in a suspicious blaze in a north-east town in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Police are investigating the fire which was one of three which broke out in Peterhead in close proximity and over a short space of time.
The spate of blazes broke out with in half an hour of each other in an area of the town and are thought to be linked.
One local councillor last night warned locals to be on their guard to prevent further fire-raising attacks.
A fourth fire at the new HMP Grampian is also under investigation.
The first outbreak was reported at the council-run Victoria Bowling Club pavilion on Victoria Road at 3.15am.
Two fire appliances from Peterhead attended and took around 50 minutes to extinguish the flames using two water jets and four sets of breathing apparatus.
Yesterday morning shocked locals crowded at the taped-off gates to the greens to see the damage for themselves.
Yellow security tags kept the gates sealed until investigators could get inside.
Another five appliances from across the north-east were then sent to nearby Wilson Street to deal with two more fires.
The first was reported at 3.30am at a derelict former shipchandler’s unit while another started in the Ken Cassell Ltd fish merchant’s building – both just yards away from one another.
An appliance each from Maud, Ellon and Aberdeen Central fire stations were called to assist.
The stretched service had to send the Maud engine along the road at 3.45am alongside two units from Fraserburgh to deal with the third fire.
Police stood guard outside both sites and charred wreckage from the buildings lay behind the police tape.
No one from the fish merchant’s could be contacted for comment last night.
Flames destroyed the council-owned bowling pavilion leaving just a scarred shell while extensive damage could be seen on the two industrial units.
A council spokeswoman said the authority was aware of the fire at the pavilion which is part of a recreation complex also involving tennis and putting. She added that she couldn’t comment further while the police and fire investigation was ongoing.
A joint police and fire investigation is now underway to find out how the three fires started.
A police spokeswoman said: “At the moment the three fires are being treated as unexplained, however that may change in due course.
“Given how close together they all were we are treating the incidents as being linked and a police investigation is underway.”
With the summer bowls season in full swing one local councillor said the destruction of the Victoria Road pavilion will come as a major blow to the town.
Independent councillor, Alan Buchan, who lives on Victoria Road, said: “The north of Peterhead has, traditionally, had a bit of a problem with deliberate fires but the fire service was getting on top of it.
“I really hope this is not the start of a bigger problem and would ask the public to be vigilant to any suspicious activity.
“There will always be vandalism in big towns but I just hope we won’t see a trend of deliberate and dangerous fires here.
“We have a real lack of facilities as it is in Peterhead and the bowls and tennis at Victoria Road are very popular so this fire will come as a real blow.”
On Friday, a bookie’s shop in nearby Fraserburgh was badly damaged after vandals set fire to a bin and it spread inside.
A neighbouring chipper also suffered superficial damage during the blaze.
A police investigation into the Broch fire is ongoing and officers are appealing for witnesses to it or the three fires in Peterhead.
A spokeswoman said: “We would ask anyone with any information into the fire in Fraserburgh or those in Peterhead to contact us on 101 or via Crimestoppers.”
Firefighters in Peterhead were also called out to the town’s new prison yesterday after a fire broke out in a cell at around 12.35pm.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Prison Service said: “An inmate set fire to bedding within their cell and the building’s built-in fire suppression system extinguished it.
“No one was injured however the fire service was called to assess the damage and any further risk.
“An internal investigation into the fire is now underway.”