East Lothian crime: Musselburgh playpark set on fire in deliberate arson attack is forced to close

Arsonists set fire to a children’s play park in East Lothian, forcing it to close.

Firefighters were called to the blaze at the play area on Pinkie Drive, Musselburgh, late on Friday night (October 28). While they extinguished the fire, a section of the park was left damaged by the flames. The fire had started in the toddler’s area, which was renewed earlier this year, and a new ‘pirate ship’ section of play equipment was marred by the flames.

East Lothian Council has been forced to fence off the affected area until the equipment can be repaired or replaced. However, the council said it was “too soon to provide timescales” for the re-opening of the play park.

In a social media post, the council updated locals on the incident, writing: “Sadly, we have had to fence off the toddler's section of the new play area at Pinkiehill Crescent, Musselburgh, due to deliberate fire damage. Police have been made aware. The rest of the playpark is open but the damaged section should not be used until we can arrange repairs.”

East Lothian Council have closed part of the play park after it was damaged in a deliberate fire.

One local responded, commenting: “Really saddened to see this. Part of a spate of awful damage in the pinkie area. The council need to step up the anti social behaviour patrols and get to the bottom of this.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 10.47pm on Friday, 28 October to reports of a fire affecting a play area on Pinkie Drive, Musselburgh. Operations Control mobilised one fire appliance to the scene. There were no reported casualties and crews left after ensuring the area was made safe.”