POLICE in Scotland are appealing for information after a series of “extremely reckless and dangerous” incidents saw a car on fire, gunshots, and a man hospitalised.

Officers have urged the public to get in touch if they can help shed light on the “linked and targeted” incidents across Ardrossan and Saltcoats, on the Ayrshire coast.

They say the first incident happened at around 1am on Friday, August 12, after a report of a disturbance on Eglinton Road, at Dalry Road, Ardrossan.

A car vehicle was found damaged and a 20-year-old man had to be taken to Crosshouse Hospital to be treated for a head injury.

Around 22 hours later, at 11pm that same Friday, police were called to a report of a car which was on fire on McDowall Avenue in Ardrossan. Officers said nobody was injured during this incident.

Then, the following day – at around 7.30pm – reports of gunshots heard fired in Saltcoats saw officers called out to Munro Walk. Again, police said no one was injured, although enquiries are ongoing into all three incidents, which are being treated as linked.

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Detective Inspector Stephen McCulloch said: “We believe that these incidents are all linked, and targeted. The actions of those involved are extremely reckless and dangerous and it is vital we bring this to a stop.

“One man has already had to attend hospital with a serious injury.

“We are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward, think back – were you in any of these areas of Ardrossan or Saltcoats at the time? Did you see or hear anything untoward?

“We would also ask anyone with any dash-cam footage to come forward, you may have captured something that can help us.

“We will have extra patrols across the coming days, anyone with any concerns should speak to an officer or call 101, or 999 in an emergency.”

Anyone with any information about these incidents should contact police via 101, quoting incident number 3605 of Saturday, 13 August, 2022.