Thursday, 19 May 2016 - 08:26
More cars torched overnight, this time in Arnhem
Two vehicles went up in flames in Arnhem on Wednesday night. The police suspect arson in both cases, NOS reports.
The vehicles, a van and a car, were parked one behind the other in the Presikhaaf neighborhood. The van's engine block burned out completely and the car behind it also sustained damage. As the front of the van was on fire and the car was parked behind it, the fire department considers it unlikely that the fire spread from one vehicle to the other by itself.
There have been relatively many car fires in the Netherlands over the past months. In March, April and May, the number of car fie reports was 30 percent higher than in the same period last year.
Four cars were torched in Lelystad and another one in Hoogeveen between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
The Mayor of Vlaardingen issued an emergency decree for the city on Wednesday. The decree applies from 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. every night and will be in place for two months. Officers will be allowed to search people walking on the street for equipment to start fires. The city's problem with car fires started in the first half of 2015 already. This year there have been almost 20 car fires.
The Veldhuizen neighborhood in Ede was also hit by a series of car fires, the last of which happened on Monday morning. Numerous young people have been arrested and the Mayor implemented a ban on assembly in the neighborhood.