Fire breaks out at head shop in Dundalk after petrol bomb attack.

The damage caused to the Magic Bus shop, on Bridge Street, was described as extensive by local gardaí.

Gardaí say that just before noon yesterday there was a buzz at the door from a man wearing a black hooded top. (Customers entering the shop must first press a buzzer at the front door.) When the door opened he flung an open container through it and its contents spilled on to the floor.

It reportedly smelled like an accelerant such as petrol.

He then threw in a bottle containing a lit piece of cloth and the fire immediately caught hold.

The person working in the shop at the time escaped.

The fire brigade was called and put out the blaze.

The proprietor of the premises, Brendan Russell, had also operated a head shop in Drogheda until two weeks ago when he says he stopped stocking the so-called legal highs.

A family member last evening confirmed the person on the premises had not been injured.

He said they did not know the extent of the damage as they had not been allowed back into the shop.

There have been a number of attacks on head shops around the State.

Last month an Army bomb disposal squad carried out a controlled explosion on a device outside a head shop in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

In February, the Nirvana head shop and a number of neighbouring outlets on Capel Street, Dublin, were destroyed by fire.

Source: Elaine Keogh, The Irish Times, 16/04/2010