POLICE IN DUNDEE are still carrying out “intensive” investigations into a blaze that destroyed the bar of a Broughty Ferry Indian restaurant a fortnight ago.

Firefighters were called to Spice in Erskine Lane to tackle the fire just after 5am on Friday, April 13.

Although the blaze caused major damage to the bar, the restaurant upstairs was not affected.

It is believed two men broke a window into the bar and started the blaze using an accelerant, without actually entering the property.

One theory put forward was that it might have been racially motivated.

Racist graffiti was scrawled across a number of Broughty Ferry retail premises, including the restaurant itself, weeks before the fire attack. Police maintain they are keeping an open mind.

Detective Inspector Willie Semple said, “We are still carrying out a lot of inquiries with people who have come forward with information following the incident, and also going through CCTV footage.

“We are also working closely with forensic teams, going through items recovered from the scene.

“It is an intensive inquiry involving painstaking examination of the evidence. It takes time but it usually pays off in the end.”

He denied police were targeting more resources than usual at a crime of its kind, saying they were simply approaching it the way they would any attack on a licensed premises.

While admitting investigators were happy with the number of people who had come forward to help, he believed more could still be of assistance.

They can do so either by calling police on 01382 223200 or contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

It is understood that one of the men responsible burned his jacket and may have suffered burns to his upper torso and face while carrying out the crime.

Police carried out inquiries at hospitals, chemists and doctors’ surgeries in a bid to establish if anyone matching the pair’s descriptions had sought attention after the attack.

Both wore dark jackets, jeans and dark headgear, possibly woollen. One wore white trainers and the other, who injured himself in the attack, wore black shoes.

They fled by clambering over a wall on to the railway line behind the restaurant.