A CLASSIC car burst into flames while travelling on the M4 on Saturday.

Luckily the driver and his passenger, who were returning from a vintage car show, escaped harm and managed to pull over onto the hard shoulder in time.

But smoke could be seen billowing on the motorway near Malmesbury as the Ford Consul caught alight just before 5pm.

The fire from the engine then spread to the rest of the car, completely destroying it.

There was even more heartache for the driver as the 43-year-old vehicle had been owned by him from new.

Firefighters from Chippenham and Malmesbury were called by police to extinguish the flames and one lane of the M4 East was close while they did this.

The crews left at 6.15pm.