A FAMILY had a lucky escape after their car exploded into flames and melted into the road in Whitehaven – just minutes after they had left the vehicle.

The driver of the green Ford Fiesta, Chris Baker, rushed his wife and two children out of the car after saying he heard “spluttering coming from the engine” on the corner of Duke Street.

The 43-year-old, from Coronation Drive, then described as his family watched helplessly from the pavement as the car burst into flames.

“We were just driving along and the the car stalled,” Chris said. “I could hear weird noises coming from the engine which just didn’t sound right so I got everyone out of the car. My wife and children were pretty scared and we just watched from the pavement as the car set alight only about two minutes after we’d got out. As it started to burn you could actually see it start melting into the road.

“This has come out of nowhere, I’ve no idea what happened but luckily no-one was hurt.”

Three police cars attended the scene with officers cordoning off the area at the junction adjacent to

the Three Tuns pub. Firefighters used jet hoses to extinguish the blaze.

Cheryl Wilson, acting crew manager at the scene for Cumbria Fire Service, said: “There was lots of smoke and bangs coming from the engine and then it has caught fire and set the whole car alight. We are not sure of the cause of the incident yet and there has been no injuries to any of the four passengers.”