A sports centre in North Lanarkshire has been left badly damaged after it was set on fire.

The incident took place on the early hours of Thursday after a break-in at the Sir Matt Busby Sports Complex in Bellshill.

Between 2am and 2.30am entry was forced to the centre's building on Main Street and a fire was deliberately started.

No-one was in the building at the time but the pool area suffered fire damage and had to be closed to the public.

The full extent of the damage is still being assessed and officers are appealing for any information regarding this incident.

Detective Constable Jacqueline McCann said: "This sports facility is very popular with the local community and with it being the school holidays it will be even busier.

"I would like to ask people living near the centre to think back and consider if they saw or heard anything which seemed odd or suspicious.

"Also, I would appeal to the public to contact us if they have any knowledge of who is responsible for this crime.

"On this occasion the sports centre's doors are still open for the community's use and we want to make sure it stays that way."