Firefighters battle ‘deliberate’ flat blaze in Hamilton after early morning break-in

Firefighters have battled a deliberate blaze at a flat in South Lanarkshire after an early-morning break-in.

The third-floor flat on Abbotsford Road in Hamilton was broken into just after 1am on Monday and a fire was started.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deployed three appliances to the scene and the blaze was extinguished within 30 minutes.

The building was not evacuated, and there were no reports of injuries.

Crews left the scene at 5am.

Detective Constable Josh Spiers said: “We believe someone has forced entry into the flat and started a fire. Thankfully, no-one was injured but this could have had different consequences.

“Anyone who knows who was responsible should contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0162 of October 12. “