'Shaken' driver speaks of 'frightening' ordeal after car explodes into flames on A3(M)

As reported, the dramatic incident on the northbound section at Clanfield saw emergency services race to the scene around 12.30pm before firefighters put out the blaze within an hour.

The 2014 Citroen Berlingo diesel was left a “burnt out wreck” following the incident - with electrics suspected as the cause of the fire.

Now the driver of the vehicle, Sheena Brown, has spoken of her nightmare ordeal, with her thankful to escape alive. She said: “(The vehicle) lost power… smoke was out the back…I pulled over and smoke started billowing out of the engine bay.

“It turned black quickly and I exited as fast as possible when I saw a flame. No idea what happened but the car is a completely burnt out wreck.

“Big thank you to a chap called Nick who stopped and stayed until the fire service attended. They were brilliant as were the Highways team. Boarhunt took the car, what’s left of it away.

I’m just thankful I wasn’t hurt, you can replace cars.”

Reflecting back on the scary incident on the busy road Sheena confessed: “I didn’t realise how shaken I was until I tried to phone 999…I had to ‘ask Siri’.

“It was a bit frightening to watch it go up in flames. It happened quite fast. I had a thought afterwards that the doors lock when driving. Thank goodness they didn’t lock as the electrics burnt. Anyway I got out unscathed thank god.

“No one knows what happened but electrics are suspected. Everyone was so kind. It was quite humbling.”

Sheena added of the car: “We hadn’t had it long. It was a lovely car until (Saturday). It was a 2014 1.6 diesel Berlingo that is sadly melted scrap metal now. I think it’s pretty clear it’s a write off.”

Referencing the state of the vehicle after the fire which is shown in pictures, Sheena said: “Salutary lesson…if your car catches fire this is what it becomes after a relatively short time. It used to be a lovely turquoise blue.”

As reported on Saturday, a fire service spokesperson said: “We were alerted to a vehicle fire just after 12:30pm today on the A3(M) northbound. Crews from Havant and Cosham used breathing apparatus and a hose reel jet to extinguish the flames.

“The stop message was issued at 1.17pm. The cause of the fire is unknown, but the occupant of the vehicle was not injured.”

A police spokesperson said: “We were called at approximately 12.40pm today (Saturday 17 May) to a report of a vehicle fire on the A3, near to the junction for Horndean.

“Officers attended along with our Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service partners. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.”

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