A CAR and garage were destroyed in a suspected arson attack.

Firefighters were called to the blaze in Darwen Road at about 5.25am this morning.

The car was parked inside the garage - which is attached to the back of the property - when it went up in flames.

Residents have been left in shock by the attack.

Jean Dalton, aged 81, of Darwen Road, said: "I can't believe something like this has happened.

"I'm still in shock. I didn't hear a thing this morning but I noticed there was water in the road.

"When I looked out of my back window, I saw there was a burnt out car. It is very frightening."

Neighbour Steve Taylore-Knowles, aged 47, added: "It was a very big fire. The flames must have been 20 feet high. Our neighbours woke us up and we dialled 999 straight away.

"There wasn't explosion but you could hear the garage collapsing as it was burning.

"There was a lot of smoke. It's very unusual for something like that to happen round here."

Police and fire crews have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "We are working with police to investigate the cause of the fire."