POLICE are appealing for witnesses after arsonists set fire to four cars in a Southampton neighbourhood, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Three cars in Bassett Crescent East and one in Burgess Road were ablaze when firefighters were called out at about 10.45pm on Sunday night.

Two of the cars - a £25,000 Volvo less than three months old and a Jeep Cherokee which had come back from being repaired just 48 hours earlier, belonged to the same owner.

A two-year-old Ford Ka parked about 100 yards further up the road, was torched virtually beyond recognition.

Mark Brown, owner of the Jeep Cherokee and Volvo was informed about the fires by a neighbour from the block of flats where he lives in Bassett Crescent East.

He and his wife Joanne then went downstairs where they saw fires on both cars being put out by the fire brigade.

"Our first thought was that it was pinpointed at us but then we were told that other cars had been done too," said Joanne.

"I was very angry," said Mark, who bought the Volvo from new.

"It was not even three months old," he said.

He added that the Jeep Cherokee, which he had bought to do up and use for fun, had just been repaired.

"We had just got it back and it was immaculate," he said. "Not any more. That is probably another two or three thousand pounds worth of damage there.

"I just don't understand what was gained by doing this.

"It is not even that they were trying to get anything out of the cars - they were simply setting them on fire."

Two fire engines attended the scene, one of which later attended a further car fire round the corner in Burgess Road.

"The fireman said it looked like they had liberally applied lighter fuel to the cars and then set fire to them," said Mark.

"It looks a bit like a war zone out there."

Mark was told about the fires by a neighbour, who was in her flat in Bassett Crescent East on Sunday night when she heard a bang outside.

"It turned out to be a tyre exploding," she said.

"I looked out of the window and saw the Volvo and Cherokee on fire. The fire brigade were there.

"Then I looked down the road and saw the Ford Ka in flames. I was worried about my car so rushed out.

"I thought the Volvo and the Cherokee belonged to the guy upstairs so I knocked on a few doors."

She added that the cars would normally be parked in the residents car park behind the flats but drainage problems had forced owners to park them in the road instead.

"There were about ten cars parked on the street that would not normally have been there," she said."

Sgt Terry Jeffery of Portswood police said: "These fires have caused extensive damage amounting to thousands of pounds."

Anyone with any information is asked to call Portswood police station on 0845 045 45 45.