A man has been charged after two cars were destroyed in a fire in Stonehaven.
The incident took place at Woodcot Court in the town at about 4.30am on Friday.
Two cars, which are parked next to each other in a private car park, are completely burnt out after the early-morning blaze.
Fire crews rushed to the scene and successfully extinguished the flames within 45 minutes.
The cause has not yet been confirmed but a 42-year-old man has been charged in connection.
He is due to appear in court on Monday.
A resident, who did not wish to be named, said the street was completely filled with smoke.
Video footage from the scene show plumes of dark smoke and flames coming from the cars as firefighters worked to dampen them down.
‘It really was scary’
Another woman who lives nearby said she was woken by the sound of constant car horns outside.
“It’s such a quiet area,” she said. “I heard the beep of the horns outside, they were going crazy.
“I looked out the window and saw fire and smoke, so I went outside to see what was going on.”
It is understood one of the cars was set alight and the blaze quickly spread to the car parked next to it.
“A fireman told a neighbour to move their car out of the way before it caught fire too and hosed it down to be safe,” she added.
“They had to cut open the bonnets of the cars to get the horns to stop as well.
“It really was scary, I couldn’t believe what was happening”.
Cars catch fire in Stonehaven
A spokesperson from the fire service said: “We received the call at 4.39am and dispatched one appliance from Stonehaven.
“Crews used two breathing apparatus and a hose reel jet. The stop message came in at 5.26am.”
Officers set up a cordon around the burnt out cars and were going door-to-door for witness statements.
The white Ford Ka and a white Hyundai car involved in the incident were removed on a recovery vehicle in the afternoon.
A police spokesperson said: “Around 5.15am on Friday, October 18, we received a report of two cars on fire on Woodcot Court, Stonehaven.
“There were no reports of any injuries.
“A 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with vandalism and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner.
“He is due to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday, October 21.”
Conversation