Car bursts into flames in Church Lane, Mobberley (From Knutsford Guardian)

11:20am Thursday 9th July 2009

A CAR burst into flames in a village lane just moments after the driver got out.

Geoff Aldridge, 72, who saw the fire consume the bonnet, said the woman had escaped just in time.

“She was very, very lucky,” he said.

“I thought the thing might blow up. The car was very severely damaged.”

The driver had pulled over into a lay-by in Church Lane, Mobberley, at about 3.15pm on Friday.

She believed her car was breaking down and got out to call for help.

Just moments later the front of the car caught fire and flames engulfed most of the bonnet.

At the time Mr Aldridge, of Church Lane, was picking his grandson up from school.

The retired resident said bystanders stopped traffic because they feared the petrol tank might explode.

“It went on for quite a few minutes and just carried on burning,” he said.

“One of the tyres blew with a big bang.”

Mr Aldridge captured these photographs of the fire and sent them to the Guardian.

But he made sure he did not get too close to the blaze.

“People thought it might go up,” he said.

A fire engine arrived and the crew began to tackle the blaze.

They put up road closure signs, and the village lane did not open for about 15 minutes.

Smoke billowed across the road at the lay-by near Mobberley Parish Church.

The fire crew put out the blaze within minutes.

Mr Aldridge said the car’s front was seriously damaged.

“You can imagine, when it was burning like that, that it was just black everywhere,” he said.

Another car arrived at the scene to pick up the woman driver, who was unhurt.

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