POLICE AND firefighters are continuing inquiries into a huge weekend blaze at a Dundee scrapyard which at its height involved up to 40 cars.

Investigators have yet to establish the cause of the fire, at Henderson Kerr Ltd in Paterson Street, and are not ruling out the possibility that it may have been started deliberately.

The outbreak was the third at the yard in less than a year. On both of the previous occasions, the fires were recorded as suspicious.

Nearby residents reported the most recent incident at around 6.45 pm on Saturday and firefighters arrived to find dozens of scrap cars well alight.

The drama drew a crowd as fire crews battled for hours to bring the blaze under control, while a pall of black smoke was visible across the city.

The fire was extinguished by 9.15 pm, although crews remained at the scene for a further two hours making sure the site was safe.

They also had to deal with a large quantity of water which had run off into the basement of nearby Coldside Library.

A police spokesman said last night, “We are making inquiries in conjunction with the fire brigade. Further tests will be carried out.”

Police also confirmed that they were alerted to damage by youngsters to a water hydrant which hampered the firefighters’ efforts.

Fire sub-officer Graham Beats said that the hydrant had been targeted during the firefighting operation.

“What they did posed more of a danger to themselves, as we were working off more than one hydrant,” he said. “All the same, it meant water was running free for about five minutes.”