A RELIANT Robin was destroyed by a "catastrophic" fire in Merley on Tuesday afternoon.

Fire crews were called to the scene at Queen Anne Drive, close to the junction with Rempstone Road, shortly after 1.30pm when the vehicle went up in flames on the side of the road.

Ron Vallance, who was driving the car at the time, described hearing his 1998 Reliant Robin LX backfire for the first time on Gravel Hill in the minutes before the blaze started.

“It backfired again and suddenly there was smoke coming out from under the bonnet," he added.

"That was when I knew it was time to abandon ship.

"I got out and lifted the bonnet up, which was not a good idea - and I stepped away and watched it go up in flames."

Sgt Stuart Pitman, of Poole Traffic Department, happened to be passing as the drama unfolded. 

"At about 1.30pm there was what can only be described as a catastrophic vehicle fire," he said.

"Fortunately the elderly gentleman managed to get out of the vehicle in time and then there proceeded to be 15 minutes of explosions and intense fire.

"I would like to thank the community for keeping their distance from this quite serious incident."

A group of onlookers took pictures and shot videos on their mobile phones and tablets as black smoke billowed high into the air.

One of those was ambulance technician Hannah Harrison, who was driving when she saw the dramatic scenes.

She said: “I went running over to make sure everybody was okay, which thankfully they were.

“The smoke was really thick and black. When I first saw if from a distance I thought it must have been a house on fire.

“I’m relieved nobody was hurt.”

Police closed the road for the duration of the incident and directed traffic around the burnt out shell once the flames were extinguished.

Fire fighters arrived when the car was well alight and used two sets of breathing apparatus and one hose reel jet to extinguish the flames. 

The car was removed from the scene at around 2.30pm.

Bournemouth Echo:

Picture by Andy Crowther