An investigation has been launched after firefighters tackled blazes at three derelict Dundee buildings within a matter of hours.
Crews were first called out after 7pm on Tuesday after a blaze started in the old post office building in the city’s Whitfield area.
The flames then spread into the derelict Whitfield Shopping Centre. Scottish Fire and Rescue said the fire had been deliberately started.
Hours later, another fire broke out within the former Wood Group building in Piper Street, on the city’s Baldovie Industrial Estate.
Rubbish in the building appears to have been set alight.
Residents said they hoped to see the Whitfield Shopping Centre demolished as soon as possible to ensure it is no longer a target for fireraisers.
Bob Wallace, vice-chairman of the Whitfield Development Group, said it was terrible to hear of a deliberate fire having been set.
He said: “The building is set to be demolished, but it doesn’t give people the right to set fire to it.
“The community in Whitfield is trying to make this area better for everyone and all this does is give the area a bad reputation.”
Chairman George Roberts said he believed the fireraising would stop once the shopping centre is demolished.
A Police Scotland spokesman said officers would be carrying out a joint investigation with Scottish Fire and Rescue into the incidents.
Scottish Fire and Rescue attends more than 10,000 fires involving refuse and rubbish each year.
Each call-out is said to cost around £2,000.