Liverpool car park blaze: We thought it was a terror attack, say Shropshire couple - with video

A Shropshire couple caught up in the Liverpool fire which destroyed a car park and 1,400 vehicles, feared they were in the middle of a terror attack.

Vehicles burn during the blaze at a multi-storey car park at the Echo Arena on Liverpool's waterfront

Victoria Courtney and her partner, Mark Windsor, whose two-year-old Mercedes, thought to be worth £40,000 was destroyed in the blaze had to flee their hotel amid fears the fire could spread.

Victoria and Mark, who live near Oswestry, were in the city for the Liverpool International Horse Show.

Watch video from the blaze:

They said the sound of explosions getting louder and louder made them think there had was a terrorist incident.

The blaze that ripped through the a multi-storey car park next to the Echo Arena is thought to have been accidental.

Horses taking part in the show had been stabled on its ground floor but were led to safety by organisers as soon as the alarm was raised.

Mark Windsor and Victoria Courtney in Liverpool before the car park fire

Victoria, 48, from Knockin Heath, a keen horserider, said the fact that no-one and no horses were injured was her main concern.

"We were spending the weekend in Liverpool. My partner is an equine chiropractor who had client's horses competing. We had been out for a meal and were returning to the Jury's Inn Hotel when we noticed fire engines outside the car park and were told there was a small fire.

Photo taken by Sue Wright, wife of former England footballer Mark, during the blaze in a multi-storey next to the Echo Arena in Liverpooland which she said was sparked by an engine fire in an old Land Rover.

"Back in our hotel we started hearing booms that were getting louder and louder. My first worry was that it was a terrorist attack - it was New Year's Eve and we were in a big city.

"Then someone knocked on our door and told us the hotel was being evacuated and we had to leave immediately. We were escorted to the Hilton - it was like an airport when flights are cancelled in there, chaos.

"There was no-where to sit, we couldnt get anything to eat or drink, so we left and finally found our way to the Pullman where horse riding friends were."

In the early hours of the morning the couple were collected by friends and taken to a hotel in Cheshire for the night.

The blaze at a multi-storey car park at the Echo Arena on Liverpool's waterfront

"We managed about two hours sleep before trying to sort out how to get back to Liverpool to retrieve our belongings from the hotel and start sorting out our insurance. We were told all the cars were destroyed. Ours, a full spec, Mercedes S-class was just two years old."