US woman charged with arson 'after setting fire to a car she thought belonged to her ex-boyfriend'

A woman's revenge plot went up in flames - literally.

Carmen Chamblee, 19, has been charged with second-degree arson after allegedly torching a Honda Civic she mistakenly thought belonged to her ex-boyfriend.

Chamblee allegedly stuck a rag in the car's gas tank and set it on fire, before cycling away from the crime scene on August 27 in the US state of Florida.

Security footage showed a woman, who police believe is Chamblee, casually fanning the flames in the boot of the four-door vehicle.

Chamblee was arrested on Saturday over the fiery attack, ABC Action News.

The car's real owner, Thomas Jennings, was alerted to the blaze by his roommate.

"He came running in the house telling me my car was on fire," he told ABC Action News.

"So we immediately ran out there. He had a pot of water and was trying to get it to go out and it just wouldn't."

He had no idea who the alleged arsonist was.

Chamblee was taken to the Pinellas County Jail on Saturday, according to online records.

She was scheduled to appear in front of a judge the next day.