Police probe arson attack on British-owned car

CALVIA police were last night probing an arson attack on a British owned car in El Toro in the early hours of yesterday morning.
The owner of the Volvo vehicle Phillip Burgess, said that he was asleep in his nearby apartment when he was awoken by a noise and he rushed down to find that his beloved car had been set alight. “The bonnet was a mass of flames. I tried to put the fire out but was unable to do so,” he told the Bulletin yesterday.

“The fire brigade told me that an incendiary device had been placed on the car. It is totally gutted. 10'000 euros down the drain,” he said.
Mr. Burgess, who has lived on the island for 16 years, said that over the last year there had been at least three attacks on his vehicle with the tyres being slashed, on one occasion. He said that some members of the Calvia business community had claimed that he was operating an illegal taxi service, an allegation he denies. “I have taken friends to and from the airport but that is it.” He continued: "I know of other people on the island whose vehicles have also been damaged in a similar fashion.”

“The car has been off the road for the last three months because I couldn´t afford the repair bill,” he added.