AN ARSONIST caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to a 'cherry picker' vehicle and a house - and appeared also to set fire to himself - in what a businessman believes was a petrol bombing in Crumlin.

South Wales Argus:

The dramatic CCTV footage, and these pictures show the aftermath of the attack, which took place in the early hours of yesterday morning - Monday June 10.

Dean Smith, of Branched Out Tree Services Limited, said his company has been "brought to a standstill" as a result - and he told the Argus he 'fears' for whoever carried out the attack, as they appeared to have been burned.

South Wales Argus:

The Land Rover Defender cherry picker, owned by Branched Out Tree Services Ltd, was parked at a customer’s house on Station Road, Crumlin, at the time of the incident.

The fire in the vehicle then spread to a nearby house. Gwent Police are treating the incident as arson.

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“The vehicle is worth £15,000, it’s brought us to a standstill,” said Mr Smith.

“I fear for the guy who did it, he needs to be caught. He got really heavily burned.”

South Wales Argus:

Mr Smith said CCTV footage from the scene shows a figure trying to set the vehicle alight. Struggling to do so, he said the person leans in the passenger-side window with a lighter in their hand.

The fuel then ignites, throwing them from the window. They then flee from the scene, with their left arm seeming to remain alight.

South Wales Argus:

“It’s quite scary,” said Mr Smith.

Gwent Police said they received a call at approximately 6.20am yesterday, reporting a Land Rover on fire in Station Road.

“It is being treated as arson and inquiries are ongoing. There haven’t been any arrests to date ," said a spokesman.

"Anyone with any information is asked to telephone Gwent Police on 101, quoting log 64 10/06/19.

“You can also send a direct message to our Gwent Police Facebook or Twitter social media pages. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org”