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 Hatzola ambulances were found on fire after the London Fire Brigade were called to Highfield Road 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.

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

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.

Six fire engines and about 40 firefighters were sent to contain the blaze, it said. The fire was brought under control at 03:06, it added.

Hatzola is a large non-profit, volunteer Jewish organisation that provides 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.

Dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes in the early hours of Monday morning following the explosions. Around 30 people have been taken to a local shelter.

Local resident and councillor Shimon Ryde told the BBC that the ambulances were positioned next to a synagogue.

"I was advised that the Hatzola ambulance centre had been attacked, which is right next to a synagogue," Ryde said, speaking from the shelter.

"It's very shocking, it's not unexpected," Ryde said. "The Jewish community is very aware of the danger we live in."

The BBC has contacted Hatzola for comment.