Police Scotland have launched an investigation into an incident of wilful fireraising after a man woke to discover a blaze at his Gretna home.

It happened on Sunday, March 26 at around 1.30am.

The man, 25, was alone in the house at the time.

He was able to douse the flames and extinguish the fire himself and did not sustain any injuries.

Wilful fireraising is a common law offence under Scots law, which is applicable to deliberately starting fires with intent to cause damage to property.

It is not fully equivalent to the offence charged as arson in England and Wales but can be found described in such a manner in some statistics.

Detective Sergeant Hugh McCombe, of Dumfries CID, said: "Thankfully the man was able to put out the fire and damage to the house was limited to the front door area.

"However, had he not woken up and tackled the fire, this could have been so much worse.

"He didn't think to call the police or fire at the time as he had managed to put the fire out himself. However, on reflection, he called police to advise later in the week.

"We know from our joint investigation with Scottish Fire and Rescue that this fire was deliberately set but a motive has still to be established.

"Torduff Road is a residential area and is near to Annan Road in Gretna.

"I am appealing to anyone who may have seen someone hanging about the area they did not recognise, or who may have any information about the attack to come forward to police."

Anyone with information about the incident should contact Dumfries CID via 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.