NEIGHBOURS rushed to the rescue with buckets of water after arsonists targeted a York home in a weekend attack.

Petrol is believed to have been used to douse the front door of a house in Hewley Avenue, Tang Hall, and then set alight.

Residents living nearby immediately sprang into action to put out the flames.

The property was empty at the time, but police have now launched an investigation after the building was left damaged by smoke following the attack at about 12.15am on Saturday.

Fire crews from York and Selby were called to the scene after the alarm was raised, but by the time they got there, the efforts of people living in the street had already brought the flames under control.

“I heard a lot of noise outside my house just after midnight, looked out and could see flames rising up the front of the house,” said one resident.

“People in the street had obviously worked out what was happening quickly and they came out to help.

“The fire was out before too long, but there was a lot of smoke and the smell was horrible so I’m just glad there was nobody in the house at the time.

“It’s an absolutely shocking thing to happen because nobody who starts a fire like that can possibly know what it’s going to lead to, so we hope whoever did it is caught very quickly.”

A police community support officer was standing guard outside the damaged house later on Saturday morning as the probe into the attack got under way. North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service confirmed their initial investigations suggested petrol was used as the fuel for the fire.

“We are treating the fire as suspicious at this stage and we are investigating,” said a spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police.

Anybody who saw the fire being started or has any information about the attack should phone York Police on 0845 6060 247 quoting log number 0019 of July 24.