A plumber has been lured to an unoccupied Sydney home where he was attacked by men who set fire to his ute, causing fears gas cylinders on the back could explode.
Emergency crews cleared a 200 metre potential blast radius and evacuated residents next to the house in Mariana Crescent, Lethbridge Park, following the incident about 8am (local time) yesterday.
Just after the man parked his ute, two men attacked him and set fire to the vehicle.
"He didn't see where they came from and he didn't see the direction in which they left," Inspector Rebbecca Becroft told reporters at the crime scene.
Police say the occupants of the home were on holiday, prompting suspicion he was lured into a targeted attack.
Dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes as police established a 200m exclusion zone.
The ute contained cylinders of compressed oxygen and acetylene.
"Acetylene bottles become very unstable when exposed to heat," Insp Becroft said.
The plumber suffered a bloody nose and a black eye.
Firefighters used water to cool the cylinders before they were safe to remove.
The operation lasted more than seven hours.
