Four ambulances set on fire in London in suspected antisemitic hate crime

An arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish Community Ambulance service in north London is being treated as an "antisemitic hate crime", the Metropolitan Police has said.

Four Hatzolah ambulances were found on fire after the London Fire Brigade were called to Highfield Court in Golders Green at around 01:40 GMT.

"We are in the process of examining CCTV and are aware of online footage. We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage," said Supt Sarah Jackson, who leads policing in the area.

Nearby houses were evacuated as a precaution and road closures remained in place. There were no injuries, police said, and all fires had been put out.

The fire brigade said multiple cylinders in the vehicles exploded and caused windows to break in an adjacent block of flats.

The fire was under control at 0306, it added.

Hatzolah is a large non-profit, volunteer organisation that provides Jewish people emergency medical response and transportation to hospitals for free.

It has served the North London community of Golders Green, which has a large Jewish population, since 1979.

Supt Jackson said: "We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern and officers remain on scene to carry out urgent enquiries."

There had been no arrests so far, police said. Anyone with information has been urged to come forward.

Police said they were "engaged with faith leaders" and "were carrying out additional patrols in the local area".

One local resident Ushi Gross told the BBC at the scene that he had heard an "explosion" shortly after 01:30 GMT and that "four ambulances" were on fire.

"We've all been woken up... by arsonists targeting the ambulances in our community", he said.

The BBC has contacted Hatzolah for comment.