AN ELDERLY woman has been left "extremely frightened" after she woke up to find her home had been deliberately set alight.

The 73-year-old was asleep in her Woodstock Drive house in Wishaw around 4am today, when her smoke alarm woke her up.

She quickly found the carpet at her front door was on fire.

The pensioner managed to get out of the door and alert a neighbour.

She was treated at the scene by paramedics but has been left badly shaken by the incident, which police are treating as a completely random attack.

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Detective Constable Gerry Hattie from Wishaw CID: “To deliberately start a fire at the door of an elderly woman is absolutely shocking and extensive enquiries are underway to find the despicable individual or individuals involved.

“There is no apparent reason why this woman would have been targeted and thankfully she had a working smoke alarm to alert her to what was happening.

“She has been left extremely frightened and upset and I am calling on anyone who can assist us in finding out who is responsible to please come forward."

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He added: “The victim’s upper flat is accessed directly by stairs outside the property and I would appeal to anyone who was in the area of Woodstock Drive in the early hours of this morning, and noticed anyone hanging around or acting suspiciously, to get in touch.

“I would also urge any motorists with dashcams who were in the vicinity to check their footage in case they have captured anything which could be of significance, such as someone running away or a car driving at excess speed."

Witnesses are asked to contact police on 101.

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