Family escapes BMW minutes before it catches fire

A family who escaped from their BMW minutes before it burst into flames wants to find and thank the strangers who came to their aid.

Dan Scott was driving on London Road in Baldock, Hertfordshire, at about 13:30 GMT on Saturday when his pregnant fiancee, Ellie Payne, spotted smoke coming from the vehicle and they pulled over.

He said four minutes later the diesel car was fully ablaze and another family arrived on the scene and used their van to drive the stranded group to safety.

BMW said vehicle fires were rare and it could not comment further until inspectors determined a cause.

The van that helped Mr Scott and his family also blocked the road to keep other vehicles away.

The 34-year-old said: “All I know is his name is Billy, I don’t know their family name, but I want to buy them some flowers or some beers to say thank you.”

When he pulled over and checked the exhaust, he said he saw flames on the underside of the vehicle and immediately ushered his partner and her two-year-old daughter to safety.

“I was just panicking. The moment I saw smoke, I said ‘something is wrong with my car, I need to stop’.

“I can’t even put into words what it felt like at the time.”

Mr Scott also praised firefighers who “turned up within five minutes”.

In a statement, BMW said: “We understand this must have been a distressing experience for the customer involved and BMW takes any incident involving its vehicles very seriously.

“Although vehicle fires are rare, they can stem from a multitude of causes, including external factors.

“It is crucial to thoroughly investigate the individual case to determine the root cause accurately.”