Young children were left covered in petrol after mindless thugs poured the flammable liquid on play equipment at a Fife park.
Kirsty and Liam Fyfe were at the Westburn Avenue site in Cowdenbeath with their three children when the incident took place.
The 28-year-old mum noticed a strong smell of petrol as they walked home and was horrified to discover that daughter Lexie, 5, and son Jude, 2, were covered in the fuel.
The youngsters were not hurt but Police Scotland are appealing for information to trace the persons responsible.
Kirsty said: “The people who have done this obviously don’t realise how dangerous this was. I’ve had to turn around and tell my kids they can’t go to park now. It’s really not fair for the kids.
“There were teenagers hanging around but obviously I can’t say it was definitely them.
“Where did they even get the petrol? Imagine if an adult was passing the park and threw a cigarette? The equipment could have been up in flames. It’s so dangerous.”
She said: “We went down to the park but it was starting to rain a wee bit so we told the kids we were going home.
“Jude went down the chute first so I grabbed him and sat him on top of the buggy and then Lexie went down.
“We didn’t even actually notice the petrol at the park because it’s a covered tunnel chute. It was on the walk home when I began to smell petrol.
“It was quite a busy street with lots of cars so I thought that was maybe where it was coming from. My husband smelt it too but we thought it was something in the air.
“When we got into the house, we realised it was really strong. Liam started smelling the kids hands, asking them what they had touched.
“I then took off Jude’s coat and that’s when I saw the bum on his trousers were black and smelling really strongly of petrol.
“I put the kids straight in the bath and his trousers went straight in the bin. I’ve tried to wash Lexie’s clothes but they were still smelling really strongly.
“Thankfully Jude had a nappy on because he’s only two so his skin is okay. All my family were panicking.”
Conservative councillor Darren Watt, who was alerted to the incident, said: “This is a very reckless and irresponsible act and I’d ask that people think of the consequences of their actions before doing something like this again.”
The incident happened on September 25. Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 or anonymously on 0800 555 111.
