Residents of a Warrawong street have spent a tense 20 minutes looking on as an exploding car fire - allegedly deliberately lit - came within metres of their homes.
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A series of bangs and the relentless blasting of a horn shattered the peace on Jane Avenue on Tuesday about 2.30pm as a white Toyota Camry was consumed by fire.
The Camry had been involved in a police pursuit about four hours earlier; residents say the driver performed a series of burnouts before crashing on Jane Avenue.
Police forensically examined the then-abandoned car. Incredibly, it went up in flames soon afterwards, once the officers had left.
A witness, Ashley Wheeler, noticed the flames about 20-30 metres from his parents' house.
"We heard some screaming - 'the car's on fire!' - and we've all run out and seen smoke and flames. I think someone's lit it on fire to try and get rid of some evidence," he said.
"There were a couple of little bangs. I was just waiting for it to go up; I was waiting for an all-out explosion."
A spokeswoman for Lake Illawarra Police District said police were patrolling Northcliffe Drive at Warrawong about 10.45am on Tuesday when a white Toyota Camry appeared from a side street and failed to give way.
Police pursued the car for a short time but lost sight of it on Barbara Avenue. They were called a short time later to Jane Avenue, where residents reported the Camry had crashed into a retaining wall.
With no driver in sight, police set up a crime scene and forensically examined the car.
The officers had left by 2.32pm, when callers to triple-zero reported the car had been set on fire.
Police are appealing to anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.