Vehicle destroyed in fire

Traffic was brought to a standstill when a Subaru Outback caught fire and was destroyed yesterday.

The incident happened on the A835 near the junction for Conon Bridge between Maryburgh and Tore.

The driver, who didn’t want to be named, managed to escape his vehicle before the fire got going.

He said “I felt the engine start to labour as I was coming up the hill so I pulled into the side of the road.

“I got out and could see smoke coming out and within less than a minute it was burning quite fiercely. I walked away to a safe distance and then it really went up quickly after that.

“You could hear small explosions as the tyres exploded due to the heat”

The road was closed for several hours, although a Fire and Rescue Service unit from nearby Dingwall quickly extinguished the fire.