A DRIVER had a lucky escape on Saturday after he set his car alight while sitting in it.

The blue Fiat was parked in Hazel Grove, Trowbridge, at about 4pm when the driver got in and lit a cigarette.

Onlookers described how he failed to put the match out properly in the ashtray and smoke started filling the car.

Eyewitness Nick Tanner, of Chestnut Grove, said: "The match just got out of control and you could tell he had started to panic.

The man begged water from a nearby house to throw on the car, but the vehicle was soon engulfed in flames.

The fire brigade had to douse the flames, which left the car with a smashed windscreen and burnt-out interior.