TWO CARS were left destroyed by an early morning fire outside a block of flats in Cockenzie.

Firefighters were called out shortly after 4am this morning (Tuesday) after reports of a car ablaze at The Boatyard.

Ruth Jack, who lives in the development, told the Courier she was woken up in the early hours of the morning by a car alarm going off.

She said: “I tossed and turned for a wee while longer and at 4am I thought I would close the window.

“I got out of bed, pulled up the blinds and, oh my God, the sight that was out there was mindboggling.

“There was a car and one parked very close to it and both were ablaze.”

Ruth said she heard banging noises coming from outside and thought it might have been the tyres on the vehicles bursting.

She added: “The fire then lit up one of the big street bins, which was on fire.

“The trees overhanging, the branches started to light up.

“It was a bit crazy, there was black smoke and it was absolutely horrendous.”

Firefighters from Tranent attended at about 4.05am and used two high-pressure hoses to tackle the blaze.

Police were also called to the development, which is made up of 26 flats, off the village’s Edinburgh Road, with firefighters standing down at 5am.

Nobody was injured during the incident and it is understood the fire is not thought to have been started maliciously.