Firefighters battle Clifton car blaze

A DRIVER had a lucky escape during the early morning rush hour after his car was engulfed in flames near a school.

Shocked pedestrians and nearby workers watched as the man pulled up at the junction of Middle Lane and Cambridge Street in Clifton and the front of his car set on fire.

Joanne Slack, owner of New Look hair salon on Middle Lane, witnessed the early morning drama near Clifton Comprehensive.

Ms Slack said: “It was lucky the school had just started, if it had been half an hour earlier the road was much busier with school kids.

“We heard a bang but didn’t think much of it as cars are always going past and clipping their wing mirrors, but then we noticed people were crowding round.

“The man driving it got out and ran down the road to get his friend, the flames were quite high.

“We were quite shocked, but luckily no one was injured.”

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said the blaze was accidental and would have been an electrical or engine fault.

He added: “A crew from Rotherham station attended at 9.06am and left at 9.21am.”

Firefighters also dealt with two deliberate fires in the borough on Wednesday night (12).

A wheelie bin was set on fire on Byrley Road in Kimberworth Park at 11.15pm and a crew from Aston attended a field fire on Long Road in Brampton at 9.30pm.