Residents were left terrified after thugs torched a car in a deliberate attack outside a block of flats.
The vehicle was targeted during a midnight attack in the car park of properties in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.
Horrified residents looked on as the white motor was destroyed in the inferno. Eyewitnesses raised the alarm and alerted homeowners who rushed out to move their own vehicles before they were damaged.
Police are investigating the incident and confirmed it was being treated as deliberate.
A source said: "I was watching TV with my husband when we heard shouting from outside.
"Then the buzzer of the flat went off and we could hear people rushing down to the parking bays.
"People were running around in their dressing gowns moving cars in case they were damaged by the flames from the burning car.
"It was pretty scary and the last thing anyone wants to be happening on their doorstep.
"The police and fire brigade arrived pretty quickly and it was dealt with.
"Hopefully someone is caught but you wouldn't hold out much hope of that."
The fire is the second incident at the flats in Hamilton's Park Holme Court.
A firebug tried to torch former Scotland captain Kenny Miller's £70,000 in a late-night attack last year.
Suspects poured a flammable liquid over the windscreen of the vehicle but fled after being disturbed.
Miller had been staying in the area with a relative when the incident occurred.
Police later closed their investigations with no arrests being made.
There is no suggestion the latest incident is linked to last year's attack.
Police Scotland said: "We were made aware of a car on fire at Park Holme Court in Hamilton shortly after 12.05am on Tuesday, 17 January, 2023.
"The fire was extinguished and no one was injured.
"It is being treated as deliberate and enquiries are ongoing."
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: "We were alerted at 12.04am on Tuesdsay, 17 January to reports of a vehicle fire in Hamilton.
"Operations Control mobilised one fire appliance to the town's Park Holme Court, where firefighters were met by a well-developed fire which had taken hold of a car.
"Firefighters extinguished the fire and worked to make the area safe before leaving the scene.
"There were no casualties."
The attempted arson attack was the latest in a string of incidents involving fire starters in Lanarkshire.
Police are hunting thugs who targeted the daughter of one of Scotland's richest men in a brazen firebomb attack earlier this month.
Jennifer McLeish, 36, was left terrified when a car was driven to her house gate before it was set alight.
McLeish is the daughter of railway maintenance tycoon Alan McLeish
The incident at the £650,000 property in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, is understood to be linked to an ongoing feud involving her partner.
The attack was the second time McLeish's property has been targeted.
In 2020 a Range Rover car was set alight in the driveway causing widespread damage.
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