Shocking moment car is engulfed in flames in seconds as parents pull their one-year-old from the blaze
SHOCKING images show the moment a car was engulfed by flames "within seconds" as parents battled to pull their one-year-old from the blaze.
Sam Mannings, 32, was driving his fiancee Sammy and their 19-month-old daughter home from a day's shopping when he noticed smoke coming from the dashboard.
The dad had stopped at traffic lights so they got out of the vehicle straight away.
In an instant, the Volvo V50 was ablaze on a busy street in Poole, Dorset.
A resident looked after Sam's fiancee and daughter as he and a couple of bystanders tried to put out the burning car with a fire extinguisher.
But there was nothing they could do as the vehicle was completely destroyed in the incident at 5pm yesterday.
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Pictures showed the motor left a charred husk after the dangerous blaze.
Sam thinks the fire was caused by an electrical fault, but this has yet to be confirmed.
He said the 2009 registration vehicle had passed its MOT last month so what happened was a "shock".
Sam, a physiotherapist, said: "We stopped at some temporary traffic lights and the air conditioning was not responding so I turned the engine on and off.
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"That's when I noticed smoke coming through the dashboard so my partner got our daughter out of the car.
"Within seconds, the car was on fire.
"A lovely lady took my fiancee and daughter into their house for safety."
Sam told of how he was incredibly grateful to other strangers for their help.
He continued: "A couple of bystanders helped and we tried to disconnect the battery under the bonnet.
";We then tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher but it was too late.
"I feel like I owe those guys some beers to say thanks.
"I'm just relieved that this happened where it did and not on a motorway and we were all able to get out the car safely.
"That's the most important thing."