FLAMES shot 20ft into the air after arsonists torched a motorbike in Accrington.

Derek Brookes had been asleep when neighbours rang him to say his bike was engulfed in flames outside his house in Cedar Street.

The four-year-old Honda Shadow VT125 worth around £3,000 had been kicked on to its side before being set alight in the middle of the night on Friday.

Mr Brookes, 42, told of his terror as he became trapped in his home as the heat from the flames reached his front door and cracked his next door neighbour's windows.

"Flames were shooting across the road and up in the air. It was terrifying.

"I couldn't get out of the house because it was so hot and my back door was locked and I couldn't find the key," said Mr Brookes.

Firefighters spent almost an hour tackling the blaze and making sure that the area was safe due to fears of an explosion.

Mr Brookes, said: “They were worried that the petrol would burst into flames. It was like a bomb waiting to go off.

“The heat from the blaze was so intense that it melted some of the tarmac on the road with bits of the bike still embedded in it.”

Police have launched an investigation into the arson attack and have urged witnesses to come forward.

Mr Brookes, said: “It makes me feel sick and extremely angry. These people have no respect for people's property.

“I normally park it in the back yard and it was just a lapse on my part that it was in the front.

"I can't believe that it has been torched by some random idiot who doesn't have anything better to do.

“It could have been a lot worse if there had been people on the street.”

Anyone with information should call Lancashire police on 01254 51212 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.