FOUR cars were set alight in a series of arson attacks in Southend.

The attacks, in Grainger Road and Stanfield Road, left two cars completely wrecked.

A red Ford Focus was ruined in the blaze in Grainger Road, while the bumper of a grey Volkswagen Golf in front of it was also damaged.

In Stanfield Road an orange Daihatsu Matiz was written off after its bonnet and dash board were left smouldering. A red Honda Stream was also doused in the liquid and suffered some surface damage.

The owner of the Matiz, Katy Richards, 22, of Stanfield Road, has been left devastated by the loss of her car.

She said: “I saw the fire engines and went outside to have a look to be nosey, and a guy from down the road said it was my car.

“I went down to have a look and I was a state. I just thought why? I’ve had the worst 2013 so this is just topping it all off really.

“The police said they think the people who done it did it just for fun.

“We reckon it was a group because we heard a few kids running about before it happened and the fire engines turned up.

“My car was covered in the stuff. The police said they reckon they’ve put it on my car and then set it on fire, and that’s damaged the car in front. They then got distracted and ran away.”

Katy is a care assistant for people with dementia, and needs her car to get to work in Harold Wood. She said she’ll now have to pay £60 a week to use public transport.

She said the incident could have been far worse due to there being a bottle of oil in the back of her car.

She added: “I never got a chance to thank the man that rang the fire brigade. It could have been so much worse if he didn’t call them when he did.”

Police took away three bottles of flammable liquid from the scene.

A resident of Stanfield Road said that when the two fire engines turned up, they doused the road and other cars in water as a precaution.

The resident, who didn’t want to be named, said: “There were a lot of kids around here, so it’s unnerving to think this kind of thing can happen.

“I feel really sorry for the girl that this has happened to.

“Whoever does this kind of thing never thinks of the consequences and who else it’s going to affect.”

A police spokesperson said: “Four vehicles were involved in car fires in Grainger Road and Stanfield Road, Southend on Sunday evening.

“The vehicles were a red Ford Focus, grey Volkswagen Golf, orange Diahastu Matiz and red Honda Stream. Officers are investigating and ask anyone with information to contact Southend police 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”