Firebombs and masked attacks - how a gangland feud escalated

A feud between rival criminal gangs in Glasgow and Edinburgh has escalated with firebomb attacks and physical violence in recent months.

A number of properties were set alight in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas in March, before the attacks spread to the west at the beginning of April. Since then at least 20 properties and vehicles have been targeted.

A number of people have also been injured, including a 72-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were assaulted by masked men at a house in Glasgow and a 54-year-old man who was slashed by masked men in Edinburgh.

Police Scotland said the incidents were thought to be targeted attacks and were being treated as linked. So far, 42 arrests have been made with that number expected to grow.

2 March: The unrest first breaks out when a car is set on fire in the Parrotshot area of Edinburgh.

6 March: A beauty salon in Edinburgh is the first building to be hit after it was set alight in the early hours of the morning.

16 March: A property in Milton Road East, Portobello was next to be set on fire.

20 and 21 March: Reports of shots being fired in Marischal Crescent, Niddrie. Five hours later, shots were also fired in West Pilton Bank, Edinburgh. Police confirmed the incidents were thought to be "linked to groups who are actively targeting each other".

3 April: Local officers carried out raids on five houses in Edinburgh and Musselburgh alongside Police Scotland's specialist organised crime team. A number of items relevant to the investigation were seized including weapons, drugs and cash. Two men were arrested and charged with drugs offences.

4 April: A house on Hay Drive, in the Niddrie area, was targeted at about 01:20. The blaze quickly spread to a neighbouring property and both were badly damaged. Later that day detectives, supported by firearms officers, executed two additional firearms search warrants in the Leith area of Edinburgh.

3 April: A house was deliberately set on fire more than 50 miles away in Cortmalaw Gardens, in the Robroyston area of Glasgow.

4 April: A premises in Milton Road, Kirkintilloch is next to be targeted.

7 April: Three homes are targeted within hours of each other. Properties in Gala Street Street and Ashgill Road, Glasgow, and Meadow Court, Stepps, were all set alight in the early hours.

8 April: A fire at a carpet business in Bishopbriggs is the latest business to be hit.

12 April: The feud turns violent after a 72-year-old and a 12-year-old are seriously assaulted at a house in Egilsay Crescent in Milton shortly after midnight.

14 April: Police Scotland confirm they were called to two fires in Bishopbriggs - one in Colston Drive and one in John Marshall Drive, both at about 12:50. Investigations over whether these fires are linked to the feud are still taking place.

17 April: The feud appears to return to the capital after a house in Pitcairn Grove in the Craiglockhart area of Edinburgh is hit. Two fire engines and a height appliance were sent to the scene at about 01:45 to extinguish the flames. Police Scotland said they were considering the attack was linked to the other incidents.

6 May: Two vehicles on Gorgie Road and a house on Bellenden Gardens in Liberton are set alight in the early hours.

7 May: A man is charged with attempted murder in connection with the Hay Drive fires in April.

8 May: Buildings associated with a taxi company on Cumbernauld Road, Stepps, are next to be hit.

9 May: Police invite the media to attend one of six dawn raids. Armed officers raided properties in Barlanark, Maryhill, Hamiltonhill, Milton of Campsie and Wishaw. Six men were arrested for a range of crimes including conspiracy to murder and involvement in serious organised crime. Police seized £46,000 and a quantity of class B drugs in the raids.

13 May: A fire-raising incident is reported at a house on the Glasgow's Drumchapel Road.

20 May: The feud takes another violent turn when two men aged 41 and 45 are seriously assaulted at a garage in East Kilbride.

23 May: Just a few days later, a 54-year-old man is slashed at a property on Pitcairn Grove - the third time this address has been targeted. It is believed four or five men emerged from a Range Rover-type car which was later seen making a getaway on the M8.

1 June: The feud is linked to national headlines when two men with gangland connections, Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr, are shot dead at a bar in Spain. Police have said there is no evidence to suggest a link.

On the same night, back in Scotland, a large property in Bridge of Weir is firebombed.

6 June: Police confirm a total of 42 people have been arrested during investigations into the feud, which is given then name Operation Portaledge.

More than 8,000 homes have been visited and over 1,600 vehicles stopped as part of the current investigation.

9 June: A full circle moment as the police are called to a property on Niddrie Marischal Crescent at 03:55 after a Ford Transit van went up in flames.

Five minutes later a Range Rover Evoque was found alight about half a mile away on Campion Road, and the vehicle was also destroyed by fire.