A would-be arsonist has been caught on security footage accidentally setting himself on fire while trying to torch a restaurant.

The startling attack, which happened in May 2024, is being investigated by a Victoria Police taskforce focused on running battles between rival illicit tobacco groups in Melbourne.

The footage, released on Wednesday, shows a silver Mercedes-Benz E240 sedan ramming the glass frontage of the business in Campbellfield in the city’s north

A man dressed in a black hoodie and black pants then enters carrying a red jerry can.

He then douses the bar area with fuel, but when he tries to set it alight his clothes catch fire.

The man can be seen rolling around on the wet ground trying to put the flames out.

He then flees through the doors, still alight.

Taskforce Lunar, a police unit focused on organised crime syndicates and their links to the illicit tobacco trade, is leading the investigation into the incident.

“We are conscious that those involved in lighting the fires are likely the puppets for those pulling the strings in this syndicate,” Detective Inspector Graham Banks said.

“They are being left with serious – or life-changing, as we’ve seen previously – burn injuries.”

The man, who hasn’t been found, is described as being approximately 170-175 centimetres tall with a large build and olive complexion.

The business, which suffered minor damage, had been previously targeted by vandals in November.

Police are appealing for anyone who recognises the man or has information about the incident to come forward.

-AAP