A RESIDENT who pulled three youths from a burning car was then assaulted by them.
The man helped them escape from the Vauxhall Cavalier, which had over-turned and set alight.
But police say the youths then committed a minor assault on him before running off.
The drama started at 2am on Friday when the Cavalier was involved in a collision with another car in Overpool Road near the Sutton Way roundabout.
The Cavalier overturned and landed on its side, trapping the youths inside. The accident caused a small fire to start in its engine compartment.
One of the town firefighters who was called to the scene said: 'The youths could not get out of the car because the door was jammed.
'So some neighbours ran out and removed the sun roof to get them out. We put the fire out.'
Constable Pete Manser of Ellesmere Port police added: 'One of the neighbours assisted the youths out of the vehicle and then was assaulted by them.
'The youths then ran away.' He said there were a 'lot of young lads' hanging around the scene during the incident.
But they had all left by the time a tow-truck arrived to take away the Cavalier, which was destroyed by the fire.
PC Manser added: 'We are making further inquiries into this matter.'
No ambulances were called to the incident and no-one was hurt.
Town firefighters were called to another car fire at 1.35pm on Wednesday, on Rossmore Road East.
A fire spokesman said: 'It was a stolen vehicle and the culprits had tried to torch it, but only managed to damage the front seats before we arrived.'
If you have any information about either of these incidents, call Ellesmere Port police on 01244 350222 or the confidential Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555111
To report dumped cars, call the abandoned vehicle hotline on 0151 356 6557.