A FIRE wrecked four cars parked outside their owners’ homes in the early hours of the morning.

Residents in Thaxted Walk, off Finchingfield Way, Blackheath, Colchester, were awoken at 3am on Friday by a huge blaze in their communal parking area.

Essex Fire and Rescue Service is unsure how the fire started, but has not ruled out arson.

The fire wrote off two Vauxhall Astras, both owned Anouk Beanie, 39.

She had owned one of the cars a week and bought the other two days before the fire.

She estimates the two cars were worth a total of £2,000.

Ms Beanie said: “I heard a bang. I thought someone had been shot.

“Then I heard another bang and I looked out the window and saw one of the cars was alight.”

By the time she got dressed and ran downstairs, three of the four cars were ablaze. The only thing in her car which survived the fire was a bottle of wine in the boot.

She said: “It literally took a minute. I didn’t think cars went up that quickly.

“We have no idea what happened. It was so quick. I’m gutted.”

A Renault Megane and Ford Focus were also wrecked by the fire, which was put out by two fire crews by 3.56am. A police spokesman said they were working with the fire service to find the cause of the fire.