EXCLUSIVE: Family feared for their lives as car is set alight outside their home at 1.30am (From Wirral Globe)

EXCLUSIVE: Family feared for their lives as car is set alight outside their home at 1.30am

3:44pm Friday 28th September 2012 in News By Stephanie Cureton

The family's car is burned-out on their driveway

A WIRRAL family were left fearing for their lives when their car went up in flames in a suspected arson attack outside their home in the middle of the night.

The mother-of-two, who asked not to be named, was forced to escape with her young children after their Citroen Picasso was set on fire on their driveway.

The incident, which happened at around 1.20am on Tuesday, also damaged the front of the house with flames reaching as high as the roof.

Fire crews told the family that the whole house could have been in flames had they awoken just a few minutes later.

The woman, from Birkenhead, said she was jolted awake when she heard loud bangs and saw bright lights outside her window.

She said: “We were all in bed when I heard four really loud bangs which I thought were just fireworks going off. It wasn’t until I looked outside that I realised our car was on fire.

“I managed to grab the children and get out the back way and climb over to our next door neighbour’s garden. The fire brigade were here within minutes but I was petrified the whole house was going to go up - it was so scary.”

Merseyside fire service said two crews attended the scene and the blaze was put out by 1.45am.

A spokesman said it is suspected the car was set alight deliberately and the incident has been referred to police.

The family are now faced with thousands of pounds of damage to their home and car and want to warn others in the area.

She added: “Although the insurance is covering the damage, we still have to pay the excess and get a new car.

"I have no idea why this was this was done – whether it was a random attack or a case of mistaken identity but they seriously endangered our lives.

“The main thing is that we are safe and we want to warn other families to be more vigilant and keep an eye out.”