TWO dead-of-night fires - one of them arson - hit Newton Abbot within a half-hour period over the weekend.

Fire crews from the town dealt with a shed fire at an allotment off the Totnes Road while colleagues in Torquay tackled the torching of a Land Rover in St Leonards Road just outside the owners’ property.

A family member immediately appealed for information to catch the offenders who struck just after 5am on Saturday.

The first 999 call-out was at 4.30am to reports of trees and a bush alight on the Totnes Road.

Firefighters arrived at the allotment site to find the source of the blaze was a shed next to the trees and bush.

One hosereel jet was used to extinguish the fire which brigade officers said was caused accidentally.

But the fire in St Leonards Road was immediately declared a ‘deliberate ignition.’

The vehicle was alight by the time the Torquay crew arrived at the scene.

Two hosereel jets were used to knock out the flames which destroyed the vehicle