An arson investigation has been launched after two cars were set on fire in Gateshead.
Police believe that both the car and van were deliberately torched.
The cars were parked up on Whitehall Road when the fire started late on Monday night.
"I was told the cars belonged to a couple, but that's about all anyone has said," claimed one local.
"But whoever has done it is shocking."
The lengthy street links Durham Road and Saltwell Road on the banks of Bensham.
The cars were parked in close proximity to a nursery and a Methodist church.
A Nothumbria Police spokesperson added: “Yesterday (Monday) at 11.40pm we received a report of a van and car on fire outside an address at Whitehall Road in Gateshead.
“Officers investigating the fire ask anyone with any information to contact the police website, quoting log 1145 290620.”
