A main road had to be closed by firefighters after a car exploded outside a school.

Firefighters from Leigh closed a section of London Road, Leigh, near West Leigh infants and junior schools, at about 9.30pm on Tuesday **Nov 3** after the driver of a white BMW reported the car had caught fire as he was driving it.

By the time fire officers arrived, the car was well alight, and exploded shortly after they arrived.

Leading fire officer Chris Seal said: “The gentleman was driving and smelt burning. He saw smoke and, within minutes, it was engulfed.

“The fire was confined to the engine compartment but the whole car was written off – it exploded as we arrived.

“Two firefighters used a hose reel and breathing apparatus to extinguish the flames. We were there about 40 minutes and we had to close a section of the road for about 25 minutes.”

He added the cause of the fire was not yet known.

The driver, believed to be in his twenties, is not understood to have been injured in the incident.