A memorial created for a man who was killed when a joyrider crashed into his car has been burned to the ground.

Jonny Smith died when a stolen Audi was travelling on the wrong side of Maybury Road in Edinburgh before it caused a BMW to swerve and collide with a Peugeot 206 he was travelling in.

The 29-year-old was found dead inside the car in May after it went up in flames, with the occupants of the Audi, stolen a month earlier, fleeing the scene.

A memorial including banners and flags paying tribute to Mr Smith was set on fire.

Speaking to STV News, his brother Callum said the vandals may have been involved with the incident involving his brother.

He said: "It's as if we aren't meant to have the memorial. I just don't understand what had possessed a person to do that.

"We are lucky to take up ten metres of the grass. It's something personal for us.

"It could be someone involved with what happened to Jonny or a bunch of 14-year-olds who had lighter fluid.

"It's very worrying. I just couldn't believe it. A taxi driver phoned the fire brigade and spoke to the police who gave us a call. It was a total shock."

Mr Smith's family have called the vandals "heartless" following the attack.

In a post on social media, they said: "Has our family not been through enough?

"You know we don't ask much, we don't want much, a few metres with a few flags filled with messages from all that loved Jonny. Is it really too much to ask for that?

"A place we can remember what was stolen from us, where Jonny took his last breath is precious to us.

"Others may not understand it but we feel something there."

The Audi A3 was stolen from Liberton in Edinburgh in April before being found on Lochgelly Road in Cowdenbeath near the ambulance depot.

On the night he died Jonny had helped to fix Callum's computer.

The brothers spoke about the following month's World Cup in Russia and Jonny tipped eventual winners France to triumph.

They parted company just after midnight on May 25 and Callum never saw him again.

The family added: "What possesses a person to do something like that, it is absolutely sickening.

"My poor mum takes care of that memorial every single day.

"It's tidied, it's beautiful and all for what - for some heartless excuse of a human being to come and set it alight.

"There's a special place in hell for people like you, my family has been through enough.

"Let us mourn, we don't want to cause any harm, let us just try and remember what we once had."

Mr Smith's mum, Ellen Mcdaid, added: "This breaks my heart that someone would do this but as long as my family are fine they will never beat us.

"We will fix this.

"There are some sad people in this world but they can't make us any sadder."