A REWARD of up to £10,000 is being offered after a series of deliberate fires left a man dead, a woman seriously injured, and several homes destroyed.

Crimestoppers Scotland is offering the cash reward as the charity believes there may be people in Greenock community who know or have suspicions about who is behind the reckless attacks.

The first incident occurred on September 14 in Union Street where a 46-year-old man died.

Only two days later, a flat in Wellington Street was firebombed. A young girl who was in the property was unharmed, but her mother was left badly injured. A stolen white Suzuki Splash which is thought to be linked to the firebombing was discovered burnt out in Skye Street.

In another incident on September 19, a house in Cumberland Road was targeted with a suspected petrol bomb which failed to smash the window. The family inside survived unharmed.

On September 28, a fire was set deliberately at a property in Kincaid Court. No-one was injured.

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The charity say an electric blue coloured vehicle, possibly a BMW, was seen in the area when the fire was started. It was first spotted at around 9.50pm driving down Ratho Street before entering Oakfield Terrace, it travelled past the junction with Kincaid Court before turning back on itself and turning into Kincaid Court. Two men got out and ran towards the block of flats before returning to the car. The same vehicle left Kincaid Court a short time later, turning left onto Oakfield Terrace travelling towards Ratho Street and again turning left and travelling towards East Hamilton Street. Around ten minutes later, the electric blue coloured vehicle was seen travelling back down Ratho Street onto Oakfield Terrace and into Kincaid Court and three men were seen to get out and run towards the block of flats. Minutes later all three ran back to the vehicle and it drove away travelling along Oakfield Terrace, left on Ratho Street and towards East Hamilton Street.

Angela Parker, Scotland national manager at Crimestoppers, said: “To put lives, especially children, at such risk is appalling and sickening. One poor man has already lost his life. Whoever is responsible must be stopped before someone else is harmed or killed by this reckless behaviour.

“Our charity, which is independent of police, is supporting officers by launching an urgent appeal for anonymous information about whoever is behind these attacks. We are also putting up a reward of up to £10,000 given the urgent nature of the investigation.

“We’ve always kept our guarantee of anonymity since we began over 32 years ago. Please help us to keep our communities safe by telling us, completely anonymously, what you know.

“Speaking up about crime – especially if it’s about someone you know – can be incredibly difficult. Your information could save lives and stop more families and loved ones from suffering.”

Crimestoppers is offering a reward for anonymous information the charity exclusively receives - via its website Crimestoppers-uk.org or by phone on 0800 555 111 - that leads to the conviction of the person or people responsible for the series of recent fires.

The offer is not ‘per incident’ – the maximum total sum is capped at £10,000, and information passed directly to police will not qualify.