Police are appealing for information after the home of a Syrian refugee family was set alight in Merseyside and they were forced to flee in the middle of the night.

Police confirmed the fire was an arson attack in which an accelerant, probably petrol, was pushed through the letterbox of their St Helens home and set alight.

The attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning while the family of five were inside. Neighbours raised the alarm and helped them escape.

The family, a woman, who is pregnant, a man and their three children, aged five, three and two, arrived in the UK under the government’s Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme (VPRS), and have been living in St Helens since January.

The family suffered from smoke inhalation and significant damage was caused to the property.

Police confirmed they were keeping an open mind about the motive of the attack, but were considering hate crime along with other motives including mistaken identity. They said the family had not been targeted before this incident, and that officers would be “relentless” in their pursuit of the perpetrators.

DI Louise Birchall said: “The occupants of this home, a Syrian family with three young children, were thankfully not more seriously hurt. The swift response from the emergency services ensured that everyone was brought to safety.

“I am sure that the community will be appalled that an innocent family would be subjected to such a frightening attack in their own home, and we will be relentless in identifying those responsible and bringing them to justice.”

The family are currently living in a hotel and are being supported by neighbours and Refugee Action.

“This obviously has been a really distressing incident for them and one that will create great anxiety for them and other refugees in that area and elsewhere,” said Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, which has been supporting the family since they arrived in the UK.

“This happened in the middle of the night, neighbours raised the alarm and were very quick in supporting them to get out of the house,” said Hale.

“It really is a horrendous incident. Obviously there’s huge support among communities where we work and people are keen to support refugees, but there are a tiny minority of people who think differently and are perpetrating acts like this. The police are saying we can’t know motives at this time but it’s a deeply concerning act and hugely traumatising for the family.”

St Helens council committed to receiving 60 refugees as part of the Syrian VPRS, which will see 20,000 refugees brought to the UK from camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan by 2020.

Police are urging anyone with any information about the attack to call 101, quoting incident number 181 of 12 November, or to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.