Youths set fire to vehicles in several cities in Belgium for the third night on Tuesday in what officials say appeared to be an imitation of violence in France, although there were no riots and the incidents were isolated.

A car, a bus and a truck went up in flames in the port city of Antwerp, while a car was set ablaze in Ghent. Cars were also torched in the smaller towns of Lokeren and Mechelen. "It's quite clearly a copycat case involving several youngsters relating to the events in Paris," Ghent police commissioner Steven De Smet told VRT radio.

Fernand Koekelbergh of the government crisis centre said on Wednesday there were 10 cases of arson overnight.

Copyright Reuters, 2005