A driver escaped uninjured after his telehandler suddenly burst into flames near Marlborough.

Fire broke out in Everleigh on Friday, December 2 when smoke began rising from a telehandler travelling down The Street.

Soon sparks and flames were spreading towards the cab. The driver had a lucky escape thanks to a plumber who signalled for him to stop.

The plumber was visiting Justin Bevan who was shocked to find the blaze metres from his normally quiet doorstep.

He said: “I went outside and looked down the road and it was on fire… it took hold pretty quickly.

“It was quite a surprise because it was on our little road and with those sorts of things you’re never sure what’s going to happen, you see tanks explode, and there were houses quite close to it.

“We don’t often get fires, it’s a pretty quiet village… not many people come and go”.

Two crews from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service were quickly on the scene to extinguish the fire.

A spokesperson said: “We were called at 9.23am to a road at Everleigh where a telehandler was well alight.

“Two crews attended, from Ludgershall and Amesbury, and two breathing apparatus wearers used two hose reel jets to extinguish the fire.

“The telehandler was destroyed and approximately 4 metres of fencing was damaged”.