A family in Deal will be spending Christmas without a car after it caught alight last night.

Firefighters were called to the burning 51 plate Ford Focus in Freemens Way at 12.30am.

They tackled the blaze within half an hour.

The owner of the vehicle, a man, was present at the time.

Firefighters are treating the incident as “unexplainable ignition.”

Watch manager Malcolm Cowie said: “There is no suspicion of arson. There was no sign of excess fuel and the windows didn’t appear to be broken. It’s unexplainable ignition.”

The destroyed vehicle remains in the road.