A van was "deliberately set alight" outside a shop before a shop worker was "assaulted", police have confirmed.
Emergency services rushed to Fountains Road in Kirkdale at around 10.26pm on Friday, July 8, following reports of a van fire. A large section of the road was cordoned off by police as fire crews got to work on putting out the blaze.
Today, July 9, Merseyside Police has issued an urgent appeal for information following the arson attack. After a van was set alight it is believed that two males entered Jim’s News on Fountains Road and threw items around the store before assaulting a member of staff.
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Damage was also caused to the shutters of the shop and the windows of the large transit van parked outside were smashed. The two men then left the scene.
Merseyside Police confirmed that the staff member was "not seriously injured but left shaken" but "considerable damage" was caused by the fire. An investigation has been launched and CCTV and witness enquiries have been carried out in the local area.
Detective Inspector Nick Suffield said: "We are appealing for anyone who was in the area of Fountains Road at around 10.30pm last night who saw or heard anything suspicious to contact us as a matter of urgency. It is believed the two males who entered the shop arrived in a dark coloured vehicle, possibly with a third male, which parked in a side road during the incident.
"I would ask motorists, and in particular taxi drivers or food delivery drivers, to check their dash cam to establish if they caught anything significant and if so to get in touch."
Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 22000485919.
On Friday evening, the ECHO reported that one eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said there was a "loud bang" before they heard police sirens outside. They said: "I heard a big bang and smoke was everywhere. The bang sounded like a push, like a firearm when clay pigeon shooting."
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