A police probe is underway after a church was deliberately set on fire in Airdrie.
Fire crews raced to the scene after locals living near Jackson Parish Church on Glen Road raised the alarm just after 3am yesterday morning (February 13).
Two appliances were mobilised by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to extinguish the blaze - which caused damage to the front of the church. There were no reports of any injuries.
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Minister Rev Kay Gilchrist took to the church's Facebook page yesterday morning to alert worshippers that the church has been forced to close as a result of the fire.
They wrote: "Morning all. It is with regret that we have to cancel the church service today and the church building will remain closed until further notice. The police are investigating fire and smoke damage caused to the front of the church."
Rev Gilchrist followed that by thanking whoever called the fire brigade, saying that the (extensive) damage to the vestibule "could have been much worse" had it not been for them calling 999.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "We received a report of a fire at a church on Glen Road, Airdrie, around 4am on Sunday, 13 February, 2022.
"There were no reports of any injuries. The fire is currently being treated as wilful and enquiries are ongoing. Officers are following a positive line of inquiry. Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 0719 of 13 February, 2022.”
"A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: "We were alerted at 3:09am on Sunday, February 13 to reports of a fire at Jackson Church of Scotland on Glen Road, Airdrie.
2 appliances were mobilised. Fire crews extinguished the fire and left."
