A man jumped out of his bath to find his car engulfed in flames.

The car's main driver - who lives on Morgan Close in Ashford - initially heard a loud bang, but it was only after his fiancée's sister screamed that his car was on fire that he knew what was happening.

He jumped out of the bath, hurriedly put on trousers and dashed out to the Peugeot 205.

Despite arriving shortly after the blaze began at about 11.40pm on Friday, there was no hope of saving the vehicle.

The 19-year-old, whose father owns the vehicle, said: "I keep a fire extinguisher in the car and I tried getting that.

"The problem is that as soon as I opened the door, so much smoke came out that I couldn't do anything except stand there and watch it burn.

"I don't know whether insurance will cover it, it's my dad's car but I'm down as the main driver. I drove that car everywhere and I'm fuming."

Witnesses saw a man dressed in all black running away from the scene, heading towards the nearby Co-Op.

The self-described petrol-head has slammed the police response, after being told they would take a forced-open window for evidence. This didn't happen, instead he was only questioned.

The unemployed man said: "They took so long to come that, what with the weather, they said all the forensic evidence would have gone.

"It's just a case of what can I do? I don't know who this was or why they did it."

A police spokesman said: "We were called at 11.40pm on Friday, February 28 to a report that a car had been set alight by unknown persons in Morgan Close, Ashford.

"Officers attended along with firefighters from Kent Fire and Rescue Service. The car was unoccupied at the time and nobody was injured."

Anyone with information is urged to call the appeal line on 01843 222289 quoting reference 46/38243/20.

They can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or complete the online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

To get the latest updates in ongoing cases, police appeals and criminals put behind bars, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford