A SHOCKED family awoke to find smoke pouring from their car after it was set on fire 'deliberately'.
The stench of smoke woke Emma Collins and her family in the early hours of the morning on Saturday (April 20) when they discovered her car engulfed in flames.
Ms Collins, of Trent Road in Ronkswood, Worcester, said it had been a normal evening as she prepared to take her seven-year-old daughter to a swimming lesson the next morning when her partner smelt a fire outside their property.
"We were all asleep.
"My partner said he could smell fire, we looked out of the window and saw the back of the car was on fire.
"We shoved everyone in the back room as the car was fully in flames and the only escape was through the front door.
"The only other way to escape would have been to jump from the second bedroom window.
"That's when the fire brigade arrived."
She described her red Peugeot 208 as her dream car that she had bought as it was a safe, up-to-date car with the latest technology.
While no one was hurt, the car was left with significant fire damage to the rear, with windows smashed and the bonnet also crumpled.
"It's a quiet, safe neighbourhood with families and full-time workers," she added.
"Nothing happens that is out of the ordinary so I am lost for words.
"I don't know who has done it. I'm thinking are they going to come back - it's really scary."
Ms Collins said panic set in when black smoke filled the air and feared that the car would explode.
"It's still raw - I haven't really slept," she said.
"It's come out of the blue. I like living here, it's peaceful and a nice area - everyone gets along.
"It was lucky it didn't set the house alight as well."
Investigations into the cause of the fire have been launched by police, while Ms Collins said CCTV footage from a neighbour captured a person who may have been responsible for the incident.
A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "Shortly before 3am on Saturday morning we were called by the fire service to a car fire on Trent Road in Worcester.
"The incident is being treated as arson and an investigation has been launched."
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