Cricket club targeted in arson attack

A cricket club and tyre depot were among properties targeted in a series of suspected arson attacks on Halloween night in the North.

A house in south Belfast also sustained extensive damage in a suspected malicious fire.

There are fears Burndennett Cricket Club outside Strabane will have to be pulled down after the overnight blaze.

Police said they were also treating the fire at tyre depot at Gobnascale, Derry as suspicious.

The home in the Lisburn Road area was unoccupied when the fire started around 7.30pm.

Residents in a neighbouring property were evacuated as firefighters attempted to tackle the blaze.

The Fire Service said the total number of call outs for Halloween night was down by around a third on previous years. Between 6pm and midnight crews responded to a total of 300 calls.

A spokesman for the service said there were also significantly fewer attacks on crews.