Lorry driver escapes as vehicle engulfed by fire explodes in Cambridgeshire

  • The driver told ITV News Anglia's Sarah Cooper about his lucky escape after his lorry exploded into flames.

A lorry driver managed to escape just minutes before his vehicle exploded and went up in flames.

The explosion was so big it even smashed the windows of buildings metres away on the other side of the road.

Mark Ratcliffe was behind the wheel when he noticed smoke coming into the cab in the village of Linton in Cambridgeshire on Thursday morning.

The lorry, and a car, gutted by fire in Linton. Credit: Mark Ratcliffe

He said: “I pulled over, there was flames coming out of the side, I then grabbed the fire extinguisher tried to put it out, but within seconds the lorry went up in flames.

"It was two minutes from when it was a little fire to when it engulfed the lorry.

"I’m just glad that I got out when I did and nobody was injured. The lorry and everything else can be replaced, but nobody got injured, so it’s all good really.”

Both the lorry and a nearby car on High Street were engulfed by the flames, with only charred wreckage left behind once the flames were extinguished.

Lorry driver Mark Ratcliffe described the scenes. Credit: ITV News Anglia

Jane Gauld-Galliers, who lives nearby, said: “We were sat out in the garden, my husband, my mother, my dog.

"The Staffie leapt about 10ft in the air when she heard the big boom - there was this massive explosion, which made us run from the garden, and on our way down we saw a massive plume of black smoke and flames coming over the corner of our neighbour’s house.”

As Denise Kiddie next door opened her gate, neighbours caught her reaction on camera.

Denise Kiddie in shock with flames behind - this is the moment she opened her gate and saw the fire. Credit: Rob Gauld-Galliers

Ms Kiddie said: “I was inside doing my pilates, came out to see what was happening and was actually quite scared to open the side gate, so with trepidation I opened the gate, looked at the fire and then there was more explosions.

"Turned round to see what was happening at the top of the High Street and there were all the neighbours there.”

Firefighters battling the lorry fire in Linton. Credit: Mark Rattcliffe

Carl Dickinson was working in the barbers when it happened.

He said: “The smell was awful, burning tarmac, rubber, everything.

"It was awful, but when the explosion happened that was pretty deafening, and the heat - the intense heat that came off - was unbelievable.”

Firefighters said the blaze was accidental, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

No one is thought to have been hurt.

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