A young child had to be woken up and removed from her home in the middle of the night after her family's car was set on fire.
The four-year-old's mother heard a "loud bang" at around 3:30am on Thursday morning - when she and her partner looked outside, they saw flames and soon realised it was their car ablaze.
Speaking to Belfast Live, the Downpatrick woman, who lives in the Model Farm estate, said her windows are shattered, gutters are melted off and the tarmac near her home is destroyed.
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"Me, my partner and my youngest child, who is four, were in the house at the time when we heard a loud bang we looked outside and seen flames," she added.
"I realised it was my car on fire and I then had to rush my child out of the house while calling the police. My house is all timber frame and I was worried of the fire catching on to the house. We all then went to a neighbour's house to wait on police and firemen to keep us safe.
"That's when the car exploded. I live in a small cul-de-sac and my car was the only one that was targeted."
Police in Downpatrick are investigating the suspected arson attack, a spokesperson told Belfast Live on Friday.
"Police and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene after a report was received that a blue Citroen C3 was on fire in the area shortly before 4am on Thursday morning," they said.
"The fire was extinguished but the car was left totally destroyed.
"An investigation is ongoing and officers would ask anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the area or anyone with any information which could assist them with their enquiries to contact police in Downpatrick on 101, quoting reference number 138 09/02/23.
"You can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/."
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