A CAR was set ablaze in Beaminster in a suspected arson attack.

Fire crews were called to the vehicle on fire on Barnes Lane at 6:52am yesterday (14).

In total, five crews were called to help extinguish the blazing car outside Glebe Court, Beaminster.

Firefighters got the blaze under control using two jets. 

A spokesman for Dorset Fire and Rescue said: “The fire is believed to have been deliberate.

"The car sustained severe damage to the interior and also some damage to the roof.”

Dorset Police are looking into the ‘unusual incident’ for the area, and officers are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Speaking at the scene, PC Brian Puttock of Bridport police, said: “We were called by the fire service as they believe it was started deliberately.

“This is an unusual incident for Beaminster, and in actual fact, we don’t see very many of these types of thing in west Dorset.

“The fire service was called at just before 7am, and luckily a lot of the retained firefighters live close by, and they have managed to put it out really quickly. If they hadn’t the whole thing would have probably gone up.

“If anyone has any information, we would ask that they contact us.”

Barnes Lane resident Danuta Karasinski said she saw firefighters tackling the blaze.

“We saw the firefighters this morning, and all the smoke coming out if it,” she said.

“The kids were getting a bit excited by it all. I can’t believe someone would set fire to a car on purpose.

“This area is really quiet, so hopefully it won’t happen again.”

Local resident Jamie Portley said there is rarely any crime in the area.

“It was a bit shocking to see this happen, especially so early in the morning,” he said.

“It’s an estate here, but everyone is really friendly and I’ve never known anything like this to happen around here.”

Police have not ruled out that the fire could have been started by a technical fault with the vehicle.

A Dorset Police spokesperson, said: “We were called at 6.50am to reports of a car fire at Barnes Lane in Beaminster.

“We did attend and the vehicle was a green BMW, registered to a man from Beaminster.

“The fire service is investigating the cause of the fire. We are unsure if it was a deliberate act or if there was an electrical or technical fault.

“We are waiting for the results of the fire service investigation to determine the cause.”

Witnesses and anyone with information should call Dorset Police in 101, quoting incident number 14:70.