THIS is the terrifying moment a car burst into flames after a pair of arsonists poured petrol over the vehicle at a politician’s home.
Video footage from outside the property in shows a hooded person drenching liquid over a car while a second person films the incident from the side.
An arsonist was filmed lighting a car on fire outside a house in Birmingham Credit: BPM media
CCTV footage shows a hooded arsonist dumping petrol on top of the parked vehicle
After igniting the vehicle into flames, emergency services rushed to the blazing inferno at around 1.20am on Wednesday.
CCTV footage from outside the home in Portman Road, off Wheelers Road, shows a person pouring petrol over a parked car outside the property on June 3.
After covering the roof and the bonnet of the vehicle, the arsonist chucks a flame onto the car.
Video filmed from across the street shows the car bursting into a flaming inferno as black smoke billows out.
Two brothers from the home used a garden hosepipe to initially put out the fire before firefighters arrived Credit: BPM media
Police are investigating the incident and appealing for information Credit: BPM media
Firefighters are seen putting out the burning car with a hose as fire engines line the street with their flashing lights on.
Family members expressed their anger and fear after being woken up to find a car on their driveway had been torched by arsonists and was threatening to spread to their home.
The quick thinking of family members prevented the blaze spreading to a second car and the home, where people were sleeping.
Brothers Farrukh and Rashad said they had been alerted by the noise and light from the flames and rushed outside to see the car on their driveway alight.
They grabbed a garden hosepipe and buckets to put water on the flames to try to stop them spreading to the fuel tank and further heating up the hybrid electric battery, amid fears of an explosion.
The home belongs to the political activist Salma Yaqoob, who was the former leader of the Respect Party and now involved in political campaigning with the .
It is feared those responsible deliberately targeted the Yaqoob family, who have recently been involved in election in Birmingham and the Gorton and Denton by-election.
They told BirminghamLive the incident had left them shocked and anxious. They are urging the police to find those responsible.
Yaqoob said: “It has been an extremely distressing experience.
“We are grateful that no-one has been hurt. The fire service responded quickly to prevent the flames spreading to the house where family members had been sleeping.
“There is a police and we hope the perpetrators will be identified quickly.
“It could have been much worse.”
West Midlands Fire Service said: “Shortly after 1.20am on Wednesday 3 June, we responded to reports of fire on Portman Road, Birmingham.
“Two fire engines and a brigade response vehicle attended, crewed by firefighters from Highgate and Kings Norton fire stations.
“Crews arrived to find a car on fire on a driveway. It had spread to a nearby hedge.
“Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire using a hose reel.
“We then continued to monitor the temperature of the vehicle, before leaving the incident with the just before 2.30am. Fortunately, no one was hurt.”
West Midlands Police said: “We are investigating and would urge anyone with information to contact us on 101, quoting 20/271790/26.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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