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Fire which wrecked Olympic cars not started deliberately

A fire that destroyed cars belonging to Olympic athletes Kelly Sotherton and Nathan Douglas is not thought to have been started deliberately.

West Midlands Police told the couple, who live in Sutton Coldfield, that the fire on their driveway might have been caused by a technical fault.3.30am yesterday. "The fire is not thought to have been started deliberately," the spokesman said.

The two cars destroyed by fire Credit: BPM Media (Midlands)

An Audi belonging to former Birchfield Harriers heptathlete Sotherton, who won bronze at the 2004 Olympics, was burnt out in the fire, and her partner's Honda was also written off.

Writing on her Twitter account, Sotherton, who retired in 2012, said: "Luckily no one was hurt. Neither car had been driven for 12 hrs. It was scary for a while, we were in the back garden to be safe.

The cars were completely burnt out by the fire Credit: BPM Midlands (Media)

"Luckily no damage to our house. It could have been a whole lot worse."

Douglas posted a picture of the wreckage on his Twitter page, showing a CD entitled Girl On Fire which survived largely intact.

"All the CDs in my car are ash, except for this one #Ironic #GottaLaugh," Douglas wrote.