have been started by Hallowe'en pranksters.

While Police were focussing their attention on finding the person who threw a homemade firebomb at a Police car near Devil's Hole, firemen were rushing to "maliciously-started'' blazes from Hamilton to Devonshire.

A Fire Service spokesman said there was no doubt the fires were started intentionally.

He said it was impossible to tell if they were related, although they followed three similar patterns.

At about 7 p.m. firemen rushed to Northlands School in Pembroke where three trash cans were in flames.

At 7.30 p.m. they put out another trash can fire at Bernard Park. And about two hours later, they attended a third trash can fire at the Hamilton Bus Terminal.

Firemen then rushed to Devonshire Rest Home where a mattress on an area of grass below the home had been set alight.

At about 10 p.m. they received a report that two motorcycles on Victoria Street were on fire. One of the motorcycles was totally destroyed while the other suffered soot damage to the seat and paint work.

At 10.45 p.m. on Loyal Hill in Devonshire they attended a second mattress fire which had spread to a five-by-five-foot area of grassland.

The trail ended just before midnight when they were called to attend another motorcycle fire outside the London Shop in Hamilton.

One of the cycles was totally destroyed and the other damaged to the tune of several hundred dollars. Police were investigating further.