Firefighters averted a potential gas explosion in the Greenhead area of Wishaw at the weekend.
Although no one was injured, the occupants of a number of houses in Hawthorn Drive had to be evacuated from their homes.
Emergency services were called out to reports of a fire at a property on Saturday morning.
Worryingly, the fire also caused extensive damage to gas pipes leading into the house.
Waste bins at the side of the property had been set alight, causing damage to the building.
The emergency services were alerted to the blaze around 5.15am and police enquiries are ongoing. Two firefighting appliances were deployed to deal with the fire and Scottish Gas engineers called in.
They checked for leaks as a precautionary measure before allowing residents to return to their homes.
Officers are appealing for information to the incident which is being treated as wilful fire-raising.
Detective Constable Jacqui McCann at Wishaw CID, said: “I appeal to anyone who may have seen a person or persons or any vehicles acting suspiciously to contact police immediately.”
Anyone with information can contact Wishaw CID on101 and quote incident number 0877.
