Man charged with attempted murder after gang feud arrests

A man has been charged with attempted murder in connection with two deliberate fires in Edinburgh thought to be linked to an ongoing gangland feud.

Kurtis Young made no plea to charges of wilful fire raising, danger to life and attempted murder on separate occasions on 23 March and 4 April following incidents on Hay Drive in Niddrie.

Police believe the attacks are related to two groups targeting each other in a series of incidents in the east and west of the country.

A 24-year-old man was also arrested and charged in Edinburgh for a breach of bail conditions on Friday, Police Scotland said.

Det Ch Supt David Ferry described the attacks, which have centred on residential and business premises in Edinburgh and Glasgow, as "dangerous and abhorrent".

He said: "I want to make it clear that we will not stop until we bring those responsible for this criminality to justice.

"Local officers continue to reassure the public with intelligence-led patrols to disrupt the activities of criminals in our communities."

Young, 41, of no fixed abode, was initially arrested by another police force and was remanded in custody to appear again at Edinburgh Sheriff Court within eight days.

There have now been 26 arrests in connection with a series of firebombing attacks, assaults and reports of shots being fired in Glasgow and Edinburgh since March.

Officers are also investigating whether two other incidents on Tuesday morning are connected to the feud.

Two vehicles were set on fire on Gorgie Road at about 04:40 and a house on Bellenden Gardens, in the Liberton area, was vandalised at about 08:50.

Police said inquiries into both incidents were ongoing.

A series of attacks began on 2 March when a car was set on fire in Edinburgh's Parrotshot area.

A beauty salon in Leith and a garage in Portobello were also targeted over a 10-day period.

Later, shots were reported as being fired at two properties in Niddrie and Pilton in separate incidents.

Further firebomb attacks were reported on another house in Niddrie at the start of April, just as the first property in Glasgow was targeted in the Robroyston area.

A carpet business in Bishopbriggs and another commercial premises in Kirkintilloch were also hit, alongside homes in Glasgow and Stepps.

In April, a 72-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were assaulted at a house in Egilsay Crescent in Milton, Glasgow.