AN ENGINE fault caused a road sweeper to catch fire on a Weymouth street.

The driver of the vehicle got out and called the fire brigade as soon as the incident happened at around 8.30am this morning on New Street.

A spokesman for the Dorset Waste Partnership said: “The driver was not injured. The fire was caused by a leak in the hydraulic pipe, causing oil to leak onto the engine which caught fire.

“The fire service put out the fire and the vehicle was taken back to the depot. A team was sent to clean the street where the fire had taken place.”

One crew from Weymouth Fire Station attended the incident.

A spokeswoman for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: "They found one small road sweeper fully alight and two sets of breathing apparatus and two hose reel jets were used to extinguish the fire.

"The stop message was received at 9.10am."