Flintshire mum left shaken after car near her home 'blew up'

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service received a call just after 4.10am on Monday morning reporting a vehicle fire in Riverside Park, Garden City.

Two crews attended the scene to find the blaze had also spread to two nearby garages.

Images supplied by a resident of Riverside Park

One resident, who did not want to be named, told the Leader: "It was horrible, I jumped out of bed because it sounded like gunshots. It was so loud.

"I looked out and I thought the garages themselves were on fire to start with because I couldn't see the car.

• Vehicle destroyed and garages damaged in early morning Garden City fire

"The flames were massive, so I grabbed my phone and called 999. "As I came downstairs there were other people coming out to see what was happening and they were panicking.

"Then it literally blew up. It must have been the fuel tank or something because it was so bright, like a blue-white fire.

"The first thing that came into my mind when I saw it was my kids, because they were very scared.

"I thought it was going to spread to my house and I didn't know what to do.

"The smell of rubber and petrol was disgusting.

"The fire brigade came and they were there for a few hours putting it out.

"The whole car was burned to a crisp, right down to the metal.

Riverside Park in Garden City

"It was the first time I have ever seen something like that. I'm still shaken now."

A spokesman for the fire service told the Leader the incident, which completely destroyed the vehicle, resulted in 20 per cent fire and heat damage to one garage and 10 per cent damage to another.

The cause of the blaze is believed to have been deliberate ignition of the vehicle, the spokesman added.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed nobody was injured in the incident.