TWO people appeared in court last week charged with deliberately setting fire to a house in Dollar last February in an alleged insurance scam.

A 39-year-old male and 29-year-old woman are accused of setting the Strachan Crescent home alight on 20 February of this year.

However, when they appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court on Friday (27 March) they were also charged with attempted fraud and attempted extortion.

During the brief hearing, held in private, both made no plea or declaration and have since been released on bail.

Fiscal enquries are continuing into the case and the case will recall at the court at a later date.

Police were first called to the ‘suspicious’ blaze after investigators from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) carried out a sweep of the house.

It is believed they unearthed evidence of foul play and a subsequent police investigation was launched.

The fire ripped through the home on the morning of Friday, 20 February, with emergency crews from Stirling, Alloa and Tillicoultry dispatched to the scene.

Thick black smoke could be seen billowing out for miles across the Hillfoots villages as the fire took hold on the two-storey home.

By the time the firefighters extinguished the flames, the roof of the house had completely collapsed in, leaving nothing to be salvaged.

A police spokeswoman confirmed: “Police in Clackmannanshire have arrested a man and a woman following a suspicious fire in Dollar.

“Following an extensive investigation by CID officers, a 39-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman were arrested and charged on Thursday night. They both appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court on Friday (27 March).”