TWO cars have been torched during an alleged arson attack in the early hours of the morning.

One fire crew from Weymouth fire station attended the scene at The Doves in Littlemoor shortly before 3am and discovered two cars which were well alight.

Dorset Police said the two cars targeted were a red Fiat Grande Punto registered to a Weymouth man and a black Mazda MX-5 registered to a Weymouth woman.

Police have vowed to step up patrols in the area.

A spokesperson for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: “One Weymouth fire crew were called to the incident at 2.44am in the early hours of this morning. Firefighters tackled the car fires using two sets of breathing apparatus and two hose reel jets.

“The cause of the car fires is believed to be deliberate and police are investigating further.”

One Littlemoor resident, who did not wish to be named, is urging anyone with any information to contact the police, saying next time ‘could be much more serious’ if the offenders are not caught.

He added: “Whoever did this doesn’t realise that they are not just burning a car – there could have been a family sitting in either one of those cars. I woke up in the middle of the night and went outside after hearing the car alarms. The two car owners were watching as their cars went up in flames and you could see they were absolutely devastated.

“Residents here were worried the fire would spread to the nearby houses because it was quite a big blaze – incidents like this need to stop and residents here are quite frankly fed up.”

This incident follows a recent attack on a man by four youths in the same area.

Littlemoor resident Jan Hinton also had her car torched in August last year and another arson attack in January of last year saw four people arrested.

Dorset Police are appealing for witnesses to the latest incident and anyone with information should call 101, quoting crime reference number 15:16.

Police said it happened in a car park close to Nuthatch Close.

Detective Sergeant Nicky Baker, of Weymouth CID, said: “This is a very upsetting incident for the victims and local residents in the area.

“It appears that these vehicles, which were parked next to each other, were set on fire deliberately. This behaviour is highly irresponsible and extremely dangerous – it was fortunate no one was injured.

“I urge anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area at the time to come forward.

“Any witnesses or anyone with information are should contact the police as soon as possible.

“All calls are treated in the strictest confidence.”

Inspector Neil Wood, of Weymouth police said: “I would like to reassure residents in Littlemoor that extra patrols are out in the area in response to this incident.

“Dorset Police has been working hard with our partner agencies to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour on the estate in the last 12 months and these issues will not be tolerated.”