A CAR was destroyed after it caught fire next to a main road in Dorchester.

Passers-by told of hearing bangs and seeing flames dramatically shoot up from the vehicle as the blaze took hold.

The car, which was parked outside the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses off Weymouth Avenue, suffered a mechanical failure which sparked a fire today.

Emergency services were called to the scene and a fire crew from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service worked to extinguish the blaze.

Dorset Echo:

Picture: Finnbarr Webster Photography

A spokesman for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called at 1pm to Weymouth Avenue to a car well alight outside Kingdom Hall – one crew from Dorchester attended and used one breathing apparatus wearer and one hose reel jet.

“There were no casualties.”

Dorset Police also attended the scene and assisted the fire service by closing the road.

Police officers continued to manage traffic while the fire crews put out the fire and made sure road users were safe.

The road was later reopened at 1.15pm.

Nigel Hillier, from Weymouth, witnessed the fire.

He said: “I was driving from Weymouth to Dorchester but when I reached the roundabout I noticed smoke which I originally thought was from a car's exhaust.

"As I got closer I could see the car with flames coming from the underside. I saw a driver pull over who was obviously ringing the emergency services so I carried on driving and turned into Dorchester Football Club. I parked up and walked through the gap in the hedge and watched the fire crew put out the fire." 

Another passer-by, who witnessed the car fire, said: “The fire was outside of the football club in the car park by the Jehovah’s Witness hall. I heard a lot of big bangs, it was quite frightening.

“It took a while for the fire crews to get there. The car was alight. When the firefighters put the fire out with their hoses, it was almost completely black.”