A STRETCH of road little over a mile long has seen three traffic accidents in under a week.

A Land Rover burst into flames on the A419 yesterday, becoming the latest vehicle in less than seven days to suffer an accident in the same area.

The spate has been branded “Bermuda Triangle stuff” – but there is not believed to be any link between them.

In the latest, the Land Rover caught fire on the A419 near Blunsdon.

Smoke and flames were seen pouring from the vehicle by passing motorists at around 8.05am yesterday morning .

A fire engine was needed to extinguish the vehicle, which was almost totally destroyed.

The fire brigade did not report any injuries, and the cause is believed to have been accidental.

But it followed a caravan crash at 3.30pm on Thursday, which happened just yards from the same spot.

And last Sunday, a tragic six-vehicle smash claimed the life of farmer Bruce Willis – only a short distance away at the Castle Eaton junction.

The A419 has a 70 mph speed limit.

Inspector Ian Stevenson, from the police’s Serious Collision Investigation Team, said there was nothing “inherently dangerous” about the road.

He said: “You’re almost talking about Bermuda Triangle stuff, aren’t you?

“A tractor heading north in the dark hit by a lorry from behind.

“A caravan decides to flip over. Then a Land Rover catching fire.

“You can’t legislate against that.

“I think it’s a bit of a nasty coincidence for those involved. But I wouldn’t be able to identify a link between these three incidents themselves, as a professional traffic cop.

“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and investigating crashes all that time.”

He also said: “There’s so many different factors involved in these things. A car spontaneously combusting, I don’t think you can include in the figures. It’s an incident rather than an accident. It’s not uncommon to drive down the motorway and see a car bonnet up and smoke pouring out.”

Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses to the crash which killed Mr Willis.

Anyone who saw his tractor and trailer travelling along the stretch of road, or the Renault lorry which was also involved in the accident, is asked to contact the police’s Serious Collision Investigation Team on 0845 408 7000. Ask for Sgt Craig Hardy or PC Kevin Fry.