Appeal for information following suspicious fire in Leyland Road, Bathgate

Police Scotland is appealing for information following a suspicious fire in Bathgate.

Around 4.50am on Friday, 29 January, 2021, police received a report of a fire at a house in Leyland Road, Bathgate.  No-one was injured in the incident and officers are treating it as a wilful fire-raising.

Enquiries carried out so far have established a man was seen running from the location just after the fire was set.  He is white, around 6 ft. tall, aged between late 20s to early 30s, with an average build. He was wearing dark coloured jumper and trousers, a thick woolly hat and was at one stage had been wearing a yellow High visibility jacket which may have been removed during the incident.

Officers are gathering any relevant CCTV footage for review and have been carrying out door-to-door enquiries.

Detective Constable David McDougall said: “I am appealing for anyone who may have any information regarding this incident to contact us.  The motive for this attack is unknown and enquiries are ongoing to establish the exact circumstances.  I would urge anyone with any information to get in touch with us, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please do pass it on.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland via 101 quoting incident number 0344 of 29 January 2021.  Alternatively, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where you can give your information anonymously.