Jaguar with 'warning light' goes up in flames as couple escape

Anthony Gannaway was travelling with his wife from Swindon when a fire started in their new Jaguar Premiere on the Spine Road at around 10am on Saturday, July 13.

Firefighters from Stratton St Margaret Fire Station arrived quickly on the scene and said the car was “well alight” by the time they got there, but the pair had luckily escaped the vehicle uninjured.

Anthony said: “We only had the car for a couple of months and it came up with a fault, so we had the exhaust cleaned twice and we were told to expect a bit of smoke to come out on a longer drive, but told not to worry about that.

“While we were driving to the Cotswolds, we had people flashing us saying there was smoke coming out of the car.

"The company told us that would happen, so I told my wife not to worry and we kept driving.

"Five minutes later the smoke carried on and people were still flashing us and then some were shaking their hands.

“Someone pulled up to the car to say we were on fire and my wife and I quickly got out of the car.

"The flames were around us and it went up like a rocket, within about 15 minutes it completely took hold of the car. There was a plume of smoke and fire 30 ft high and police coned it off. I couldn’t believe it.

“I had an extinguisher in the car but the flames were getting higher and higher and bigger and bigger, someone was helping me to use it but it only worked for three seconds.

"There was something wrong with it, so we thought we better move back, and we stood there watching it burn away.

“It was the best car I’ve had in my life. I’ve had three Jaguars and I’ve always been very pleased with them, but not now.

"I’m really upset, but if we were on the motorway it would have been even worse.”

He added: “We’d like to thank everyone for their help.

"Everyone was kind offering water and food and I was very impressed by that.”

The tyres, front and rear were heavily destroyed, leaving the vehicle irreparable.