Eight cars torched in 45-minute crime spree in Glasgow

Police are appealing for information after eight cars were torched in two areas of Glasgow in about 45 minutes.

The vehicles were burnt out in neighbouring Penilee and Hillington between 04:22 and 05:05 on Thursday.

Nicola Elliott, 37, told the BBC her own car and one she had recently sold to a friend were among those destroyed.

She said that on seeing the flames, she ran to get her 10-year-old daughter, two dogs and two guinea pigs out the back of the house.

A neighbour had raised the alarm at about 04:45.

Ms Elliott said she jumped over a wall at the back of the house in Clavens Road, Penilee, because the fire was too close to the gate at the front of the house.

Her Vauxhall Astra and a Ford Fiesta she had sold to a friend were among the eight vehicles burnt out.

She said her legs had been “like jelly” as she ran to the upstairs window and saw “the two cars were engulfed in flames and making big booming noises.”

She added that her daughter was terrified and coughing due to the smoke.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the first call they received was about a car on fire on Penneld Road at 04:22 with the last report being about a vehicle on fire in Tweedsmuir Road at about 05:05.

There were no reported casualties.

Ms Elliott, who praised the fire service for its quick response, said she thought the cars outside her home may have been targeted until hearing other vehicles nearby were also set alight.

She added that from her neighbour’s CCTV it looked like the culprit may have been burned.

A police spokeswoman said: “Around 4.30am on Thursday, 26 January, officers were called to a report of eight vehicles set on fire at separate addresses in the Penilee area.”

She confirmed that the incidents were being linked and urged anyone with information to contact police.