Shock as car blaze breaks out

The Peugeot on fire in Shrewsbury. Dramatic photographs show the moments firefighters tackled a fire which engulfed the engine of a car in Shrewsbury.

The engine compartment of the vehicle, a Peugeot, was completely destroyed in the fire, which broke out in Abbey Foregate just after 1.30pm yesterday.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing out of the engine of the vehicle after the blaze broke out.

Onlookers spoke of seeing the smoke rising from the engine, while they said something from the vehicle had fallen underneath it and was on fire. The orange glow of flames could also be seen under the bonnet.

Two crews from the town were called to tackle the fire, which broke out in the engine compartment.

Firefighters, equipped with breathing equipment, used hosereel jets to tackle the blaze.

Passers by stopped to watch the fire and take photographs while others were seen taking pictures on their mobile phones as they walked past.

Rodney Coomby, who runs a nearby newsagents, was driving past at the time and witnessed the fire.

He said: “I was worried it would explode because there was definitely some flames underneath.”