A BUSINESSMAN says he is closing his company after he was targeted by arsonists for the second time in a month.

Three vans, worth £3,000, were destroyed in a blaze at 1.10am yesterday in a small industrial park, in Shepherd Cross Street, Halliwell.

None of the vehicles, which are part of a van dealership, were insured.

The fire comes just two weeks after a camper van was set alight in a similar incident.

Neighbours raised the alarm when the latest blaze began.

Firefighters managed to stop the fire spreading to nearby buildings, but the vans were destroyed.

The same crew attended the blaze on Wednesday, March 14, when the camper van was destroyed and one of the units damaged.

A spokesman for Bolton Central fire station said: “We used jets to stop the fire spreading to nearby buildings.

“There were three separate seats of fire and, at present, it appears to have been started by unknown persons.”

Now the owner of the company, Bolton Van PX Centre, says he is going to close the business.

The 43-year-old man, who does not want to be named, said he had been left “gutted”

by the fires.

Since opening his business two years ago, he has suffered four burglaries and two arson attacks.

“I am closing the business now. It is a shame, but there is not much point carrying on now.

“I hope whoever is responsible is caught and dealt with in the right way.

“They are just scum really.

You try to earn a decent living and they come and do this. I don’t know if it’s jealousy or what.”

He added: “I’ve no idea why anyone would do this, but we have been broken into that many times that there is nothing left to steal so they set fire to the vans instead.”

Police confirmed they were treating the incident as arson and said inquiries were continuing.

It is the latest in a spate of arson attacks in Bolton.

Last week, five cars were set alight in Smithills in just one night.

Anyone with information should call Bolton CID on 0161 856 5599 or 101.