Driver escapes car just as it bursts into flames
A driver fled from his car with seconds to spare before it was engulfed by flames. Other motorists who saw the scene unfolding on Tonbridge Road desperately hooted and flashed Malcolm Bradley to warn him his Mercedes was on fire. Just moments later the car had been swallowed by thick smoke. The 49-year-old builder was on his way to the tip after a busy day when the fire started during the afternoon school-run.
Mr Bradley, who is asthmatic, said: “I was coming up the hill and I started smelling smoke and saw people waving at me and cars flashing.
“At first I thought it was coming from the stereo but I think it was a problem in the engine.
“Smoke filled the cab and within seconds the car was burning.
“If I had stayed in the car any longer I don’t know what would have happened.”
Mr Bradley, of South Street, Maidstone, was only able to salvage a few items from his car which has been written off. One of them was his inhaler.
The fire happened near the Rhianos party venue on Friday afternoon, around 4pm. The road was closed, causing lengthy delays in the town centre. South East Coast Ambulance Service also attended.
Sarah Smith, from Maidstone, posted on Facebook: “I saw a car driving up Tonbridge Road, billowing smoke and everyone was tooting them. As it went past me I could see the whole bottom of the car was in flames.”
Kent Fire and Rescue Service was on the scene in four minutes, thanks to the fact a fire engine was driving round the gyratory when the call came in.
Mr Bradley says the cause of the fire has not been confirmed, adding: “Firefighters were there really quickly. They closed the road and put the fire out. They did a great job.”
It was the second car fire to happen on Tonbridge Road in the space of days. Last Wednesday a small blaze broke out in the back of a van belonging to Hydro Dynamix cleaning company. An electrical fault was thought to be to blame.