Driver’s lucky escape as blaze destroys car

The woman was travelling from Leigh to Wigan near junction 25 at around 1.20pm on Tuesday when she noticed flames coming from the engine of her silver Ford Ka.

She managed to get the vehicle onto the hard shoulder along the sliproad but the blaze quickly became so severe the car could not be saved.

Firefighters from Wigan station wearing breathing apparatus put out the fire and Highways England cordoned off the sliproad while the incident was dealt with and the car recovered.

The woman managed to leave the car safely and was shaken but unhurt.

Crew manager Tony Callaghan from Wigan fire station said: “She was driving near the junction when the car basically burst into flames with no warning.

“Usually that means it’s a fuel problem but the car was 100 per cent destroyed.

“She managed to pull over right at the end of the sliproad to get it out of the traffic and was waiting behind the barrier when we got there. She was OK, just a bit shaken up.”

NW Motorway Police tweeted: “J25 M6NB, 2 x Fire appliances 3 x @HighwaysNWEST officers, and @NWmwaypolice on scene. #teamwork #collaboration vehicle Fire.”