NINE vehicles have been destroyed in an arson attack at a car repair business in Co Antrim.
The fire broke out at Autotune NI at the Pennybridge industrial estate in Ballymena shortly after 2am.
Two appliances from Ballymena fire station attended the scene and firefighters using breathing apparatus extinguished the blaze and prevented it spreading to nearby buildings.
AN NIFRS spokesperson said: "They used three jets to extinguish the fire.
"The incident was dealt with by 2.59am and the cause of the fire is believed to be deliberate ignition."
Police have appealed for information.
"Investigating officers are keen to hear from witnesses or anyone with information or any persons who may have captured dashcam footage in and around the area at the time," a PSNI spokeswoman said.
SDLP councillor Eugene Reid condemned the "arson attack outside a local business".
"This has caused huge damage to a number of vehicles and given the scale of the arson attack and that it took place in a built-up area we’re lucky that this fire didn’t spread and nobody was seriously hurt or worse." he said.
"At a time when people are already struggling this senseless damage will have a huge impact on this business and the owners of these vehicles.
"This is devastating news for them to wake up to today and I hope those affected will be able to recover quickly from this setback."
