Midlothian crime: Suspicious wilful fire at Saltire Soft Play Centre in Mayfield
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Saltire Soft Play Centre in Midlothian was the victim of an arson attack on Saturday night, with the centre’s entrance badly damaged in the fire, which the police are treating as wilful fire-raising.
The attraction at Mayfield Industrial Estate was set alight sometime between 11.30pm and 11.45pm on Saturday, August 12. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene and quickly extinguished the fire.
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Hide AdThe Saltire Centre posted a message on Facebook this morning to explain why the centre has had to close. They said: “We had some devastating vandalism last night, which means soft play will be closed for the next few days. Once we have assessed the damage we will post an update.”
The centre’s manager Craig Meikle told the Evening News he was devastated by last night’s fire at the business which could leave it closed for weeks.
He said: “Last night was a new low, it doesn’t get much worse than that. It’s devastating.
"I don’t know how much it will cost to carry out repairs needed yet but the damage is centred around the front door, but there is also smoke damage in every room of the building.
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Hide Ad"Obviously we can’t operate without a fire system in place and so with the front door out of action that’s not available just now.
"The place is going to need a re-fit, and we are hoping to re-open in the next two to three weeks.”
Detectives in Dalkeith are appealing for information following the suspicious fire on Saturday night. Detective Constable Russell Taylor of CID said: “We are treating the fire as wilful, and our inquiries are ongoing.
“We are keen to trace a man dressed in black who was seen in the area at the time. I would appeal to anyone driving in the area who may have dash cam footage which could help contact us.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 4613 of 12 August. 2023. Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.