POLICE have appealed for information after an arson attack caused a car to erupt into an “inferno”, according to one witness.

The drama unfolded when a silver BMW 5 Series was set alight in the car park of B&Q in Spring Lane, Malvern, at 5.26pm on Monday.

The blaze also caused damage to a red Citroen C1 and a Ford Fiesta parked near the vehicle.

Meanwhile, police also said someone attempted to set fire to a nearby Nissan Primera which was found soon afterwards with a window smashed and milk carton full of petrol on the front seat.

A male was seen running from the scene and he was described as being white, about 6ft tall, of slim build, and was wearing dark clothing.

Pav Bridges and a work colleague were passing the store when they saw the flames and pulled over to direct cars away from what he described as “explosions” from the BMW.

“I was there a few minutes after the car fire had started and pulled up in the B&Q car park,” he said.

“The BMW was the target car. The two cars beside the BMW were affected by the raging inferno coming from inside but were not internally on fire.

“My colleague and I helped marshal traffic with other B&Q staff while waiting for the fire engine, to prevent any cars passing the explosions.”

A fire engine from Malvern attended the scene after receiving multiple calls from people at about 5.26pm.

The fire was quickly extinguished and the scene was handed over to police. 

Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack, which they are treating as arson.

Detective Sergeant David Hall said: “It is unclear what the motive for starting the fire was and it was an extremely reckless act in a busy public place that could have had far worse consequences.

“There would have been a lot of people around at this time of the evening and if anyone saw any suspicious activity in the B&Q car park yesterday, I would like them to come forward.”

A spokesman from B&Q said: “As soon as we discovered the incident we immediately called emergency services, who attended promptly.

“It is now being investigated by police so we can make no further comment at this time.”

Anyone with information regarding the incident, or who may have seen a man running away from Spring Lane, should contact West Mercia Police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 448s 11/11/13, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.