Four cars burn in spate of arson attacks

POLICE had their hands full with suspected arson attacks in the early hours yesterday, with four actual and two attempted cases reported in Limassol and Nicosia.

Two cars belonging to 37-year-old Charalambos Antoniou were completely gutted in a blaze that started at about 4 am in Limassol. The vehicles were parked in Antoniou’s garage next to his house on Nagasaki street at the time.

A car parked in the garden of owner Stelios Stylianou, 40, of Trachoni village outside Limassol, was seriously damaged in a blaze in the early hours.

Also in the Limassol area, a vehicle owned by House and Garden Ltd was damaged in a fire on Endeson street set sometime between 3 pm on Saturday and the early hours yesterday.

In the Kaimakli suburb of Nicosia, a car belonging to Petros Hadjipetrou was seriously damaged in a blaze at about 4.20 am. The car was parked outside the owner’s home on Michalakis Karaolis street.

In every case, police found evidence the fires had been started deliberately.

In the Aglandjia suburb of Nicosia, Lefteris Kokkinos complained to police that he had received a threatening call at about 4.15 am yesterday. The caller told him his car was going to be torched. Kokkinos rushed to his car parked outside his home on Theophilos Georgiades street, to find a petrol can and a box of matches sitting on its roof.

The other attempted arson was in Limassol, where a vehicle belonging to George Siakides, was doused in flammable liquid but not set alight.

Justice Minister Nicos Koshis commented that the suspected arson attacks were down to “personal differences” and not organised crime. He also said police expected to make arrests soon.