The number of explosions in the Netherlands has almost tripled in the last year, with more than 600 attacks against homes, business premises and vehicles, according to police figures.

Last weekend alone 10 explosions were reported in the Rotterdam area, as well as The Hague and Almere, causing extensive damage to buildings.

Extra security measures have been put in place in the port town of Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam, where a plumber’s home and business have been targeted in a series of attacks dating back to April.

So far this year police have recorded a total of 622 incidents involving explosives, compared to 228 in the whole of 2022.

Vlaardingen was hit by a fifth blast in a week last Friday morning, when commercial premises belonging to plumber Ron van Uffel, which were boarded up following a previous explosion, were targeted again.

Van Uffel and his family have gone into hiding, while the town’s mayor Bert Wijbenga has ordered police to step up patrols. The attacks have continued even after police arrested a 26-year-old man from Rotterdam early on Tuesday morning, shortly after an explosion at the plumber’s home.

Four of the 10 incidents at the weekend took place in Rotterdam and the neighbouring towns of Zwijndrecht and Dordrecht, targeting a house, a café and business premises.

A café on Vaillantlaan in the Schilderswijk district of The Hague was badly damaged, with windows smashed in, in a blast that police believe was caused by people throwing fireworks at the building.

Local broadcaster Omroep West said a house on Miquelstraat, in the nearby Laakkwartier, was also damaged when fireworks were let off in the doorway overnight on Sunday.

In Almere a house on Freyjaplantsoen was damaged by a fire that started with an explosion just after midnight on Saturday. A mother and child who were at home at the time managed to escape without being injured, Omroep Flevoland reported.