All images: Nicola Bowyer
Police are investigating after a deliberate fire was started at a block of flats in the Lettercreeve area of Ballee, in Ballymena, in the early hours of Saturday morning (4 December).
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) despatched three Fire Appliances to the scene of the incident shortly after 1am. Police and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, including an Incident Response Unit, also attended.
It was discovered that a wheelie bin had been placed in the stairwell of the flat block and set alight.
Firefighters extinguished the fire before working to clear the smoke-logged stairwell.
Four residents were led to safety, including one lady who had to be rescued from an upstairs flat, and was assisted out through her window with the aid of a ladder.
Police remain at the scene of the incident this morning.
Detectives are appealing for information following an arson attack at a property in
Ballymena in the early hours of this morning (Saturday 4 December).
Sergeant Armstrong said: "At approximately 1.15am, we received a report that a wheelie bin had been placed against a communal door of a property in the Lettercreeve area and set alight.
"Officers attended the scene along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire andRescue Service, who extinguished the blaze, which is believed to have been started deliberately.
"All the residents managed to escape uninjured.
"Our enquiries are ongoing, and we are appealing to anyone who was in the area at
the time and saw anyone acting suspiciously to contact detectives on the non-
emergency number 101, quoting reference number 121 of 04/12/21."
You can also submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via
http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/
Or, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at
http://crimestoppers-uk.org
