The importance of bobbies on the beat was shown on Monday night when fire swept through a derelict mill building in Dundee.
Within a few minutes of the fire breaking out at the former Pitalpin Works site in Donald’s Lane, off Buttars Loan, two young males were being apprehended by officers from the community impact team.
The teenagers, aged 13 and 14, were charged and a spokesman for police said a report would be submitted.
Sergeant Shaun McQuade said it was a perfect example of how the community impact team can work.
“One of our officers, PC Leanne Bailey, spotted the smoke and alerted us and we got there within a couple of minutes and apprehended the suspects,” he said. “Because we are based in the area we were able to get there so quickly.
“We’ve got eight new staff on the ground, and it’s made a positive impact we were all here immediately.”
The fire destroyed the badly rotted roof of the building. Flames rose high into the air and a pall of black smoke could be seen for miles around the area at around 5.30pm.
Firefighters in two appliances from Macalpine Road fire station, along with the Bronto aerial platform, arrived to find the building well alight.
White watch manager John Millar said while the fire itself was fairly straightforward, there was a danger of the flames spreading to the adjoining property.
“We used a jet to cover the roof of that building. We had two jets and two sets of breathing apparatus were used.
“There were also some hotspots on the other derelict buildings due to the embers flying off the roof and landing on them.
“The flames were through the roof when we got here and it was just a case of making sure the other buildings were safe.”
A crowd gathered to watch the fire, including groups of youngsters who also raised the alarm.
Ryan Mudie (13) said: “We were in the field and I saw the smoke and we phoned the fire brigade from my pal’s mobile. There was a lot of flames and loads of smoke.”
Firefighters remained at the scene damping down the affected areas for several hours while the city engineer was also called out to inspect the remnants of the former mill building.