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Willie Frazer: Car destroyed in arson attack at his Markethill Home | |
(35 minutes later) | |
There has been an arson attack outside the home of the loyalist campaigner Willie Frazer in County Armagh. | |
A car outside his house on the Tandragee Road, Markethill, was set alight in the early hours of Sunday. | |
A passing police patrol saw the fire at about 01:15 GMT. They alerted Mr Frazer and brought him to safety. | |
The 52-year-old is a high-profile member of the Ulster People's Forum, a protest group set up in the wake of the union flag protests. | |
Police said the burning car was close to the house. Mr Frazer was sleeping when they raised the alarm. | |
Garden hose | |
Officers also alerted his neighbours and drove a neighbour's van away to ensure it did not catch alight. | |
The PSNI patrol called the fire service and then used hand held extinguishers and a garden hose to dampen the blaze and prevent it from spreading. | |
The car was completely destroyed in the fire but no-one was hurt. | The car was completely destroyed in the fire but no-one was hurt. |
Sergeant Gwyn, of Armagh PSNI, said: "This was a very dangerous fire and due to the quick thinking actions of officers out on patrol no one was hurt. | |
"The consequences if we had not caught this fire in time, do not bear thinking about." | "The consequences if we had not caught this fire in time, do not bear thinking about." |
Police have launched an investigation and conducted house-to-house enquiries. | |
Mr Frazer is also a former director of the victims' group, Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (Fair). | |
He founded the south Armagh-based organisation more than 13 years ago, to support victims of republican violence. | |
However, he stepped down from his role last November. |