The Five Demands

Willie Frazer: Car destroyed in arson attack at his Markethill Home (BBC News Northern Ireland)

There has been an arson attack outside the home of the loyalist campaigner Willie Frazer in County Armagh.

A car outside his house on the Tandragee Road, Markethill, was set alight in the early hours of Sunday.

A passing police patrol saw the fire at about 01:15 GMT. They alerted Mr Frazer and brought him to safety.

The 52-year-old is a high-profile member of the Ulster People’s Forum, a protest group set up in the wake of the union flag protests.

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This was a very dangerous fire and due to the quick thinking actions of officers out on patrol no one was hurt.”

Sergeant Gwyn
PSNI
Police said the burning car was close to the house. Mr Frazer was sleeping when they raised the alarm.

Garden hose
Officers also alerted his neighbours and drove a neighbour’s van away to ensure it did not catch alight.

The PSNI patrol called the fire service and then used hand held extinguishers and a garden hose to dampen the blaze and prevent it from spreading.

The car was completely destroyed in the fire but no-one was hurt.

Sergeant Gwyn, of Armagh PSNI, said: “This was a very dangerous fire and due to the quick thinking actions of officers out on patrol no one was hurt.

“The consequences if we had not caught this fire in time, do not bear thinking about.”

Police have launched an investigation and conducted house-to-house enquiries.

Mr Frazer is also a former director of the victims’ group, Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (Fair).

He founded the south Armagh-based organisation more than 13 years ago, to support victims of republican violence.

However, he stepped down from his role last November.