Officers are appealing for information after a vehicle was set alight close to an Aberdeen block of flats during the early hours of yesterday.
Emergency service teams were called to the blaze at Powis Crescent at around 2.15am after residents were woken up by several loud explosions caused by the flames.
Gregor Ksiazek, a photographer who lives close to the scene of the incident, initially thought the noise was something landing on his roof.
Mr Ksiazek, 39, said: “The explosion was so big that the whole building shook.
“I thought that something dropped out of the sky, it was so loud.
“But then I saw the car burning outside, the flames must have been 20ft high.
“It was very fortunate that the fire didn’t spread anywhere else and it was isolated.”
Fire teams left the scene at around 2.54am after putting out the blaze.
Nobody was injured in the incident, but the blue Ford Focus was left severely damaged.
Police have confirmed that the fire is being treated as suspicious.
Sergeant Lynne Kortland, of the Kittybrewster community policing team, said: “It goes without saying that such acts of complete recklessness could put people in danger.
“You don’t know how a fire will develop and you are putting lives at risk.
“Anyone with information should contact police on 101, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if you would prefer to remain anonymous.”
A police spokeswoman added that officers are following a positive line of inquiry, but anyone with information that could help the investigation is still urged to come forward.
Fire teams were called to a separate car fire just under an hour earlier at 1.28am after receiving reports from residents at Erroll Street, close to King Street.
Thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the fire and into the surrounding flat complex.
The vehicle blaze was extinguished by 1.42am, and nobody was hurt.
However, the car was severely burned.
It is understood that the Erroll Street fire was due to an electrical fault, and there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the blaze.
