A man has been charged after allegedly setting a car alight while his partner was inside the vehicle in Perth’s eastern suburbs.

The 48-year-old man is accused of assaulting the 36-year-old woman in the early hours of Christmas Day at a house in Bassendean.

• Myanmar men get death for murders
• Men guilty of Thai tourist deaths
• Cheap, beautiful and dangerous: the trouble with Thailand

When the woman attempted to leave the house in the ute, the man allegedly poured petrol onto the vehicle and used a lighter to set it on fire.

The woman managed to get out of the car and was uninjured.

The burning car was extinguished by firefighters but was destroyed.

Police said the man had been charged with endangering the life of a person, assault, and threatening to harm a person.

He is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court.