A DISABLED dad says he and his family are being targeted by heartless thugs after a fire ripped through their garage and spread to their house - in the THIRD attack on their home.

Robert Brodie and his wife Janet say the shocking blaze was started deliberately and is the third time in three months their Seaton Terrace home has been attacked.

The Irvine couple were fast asleep in their beds at 3am on Friday (June 29) when the say someone torched their garage and car.

As the fire rapidly spread to the roof of their house the couple were woken by a concerned neighbour who luckily spotted the blaze and banged on their door to get them and their 11-year-old daughter Heather, out of the house.

Now Robert, 46, says he and Janet, 44, are taking it in shifts to sleep as they fear the “sick” firestarters will come back to finish the job.

He told the Times: “Whoever they are, they’re just sick. It’s amazing we all got out. If it wasn’t for our neighbour chapping us up I dread to think what could have happened.”

The family’s garage, which contained all of their two-year-old grandson Robert’s toys, was completely reduced to ashes and their two-week-old mobility car is a write-off.

The fire was so ferocious that it spread to the roof of the Brodie’s home and melted off the plastic cladding.

Janet says the heat was so intense it melted the foam on her daughter Heather’s trampoline which was 30ft away from the blaze.

She said: “The fire brigade were so quick in getting here and that’s what stopped it spreading further otherwise the whole house would have been up. The garage is away, the car is a wreck and the garden is destroyed, but we are lucky we have not been hurt.”

Janet says both she and Robert are now taking it in turns to sleep but their daughter Heather is terrified.

She said: “We are sleeping in shifts. I sleep through the day and Robert stays up, then he goes to bed a t night and I sit up. We are just terrified of something happening again. Heather is struggling to sleep. She was up til 3am before she finally fell asleep and she slept on the couch in the living room.”

Detectives are appealing for information following the suspicious blaze and in particular want to speak to a man who was seen driving a white Transit van around the time of the incident.

Fire chiefs say early indications show the fire was star ted deliberately. A joint investigation involving the police and fire service is currently underway.

Detectives are reviewing CCTV fo otage for any additional information. Officers are appealing for anyone who may have seen or heard anything in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Detective Constable Nicola Fraser said: “Enquiries carried out so far have revealed that a man and a white transit van were seen in the area around the time of the incident.

“I am appealing for any information about the incident. I appreciate that most people will have been asleep in bed around the time of the incident but if anyone has any information which they think could assist us, I would ask them to get in touch with us.”

Robert says he has asked North Ayrshire Council for help in clearing away the debris but they say it is the tenants responsibility. Robert added: "I am disabled so there's no way I can clear up this mess myself and it's not safe to be in the garden until it's cleared up."

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “The garage in question was not built by the council and therefore responsibility for it, and the contents within it, lies with the tenant. The maintenance of the garden is also the responsibility of the tenant." 

Anyone with information is asked to call CID officers at Saltcoats Police Station via 101, quoting incident number 0507 of June 29, 2018. Alternatively, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.