County Derry Post

A young delivery driver escaped with his life when his van burst into flames as he drove into a Limavady car park on Tuesday morning.

 By Fiona Rutherford

editor@derrypost.com

 

 

The Payne and Cooke van had just pulled in to Connell Street car park to make a delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables when the driver, believed to be in his 20s, noticed smoke coming from the bonnet.

 

A spokesman for Payne and Cooke paid tribute to the young man, who averted a major incident. “He got the van away from traffic and away from premises and stopped before he was burnt. ”

 

He said an electrical fault in the engine bay was believed to have caused the fire.

 

“When the driver got out, he phoned the fire brigade immediately and while he was still on the phone the cab caught fire – the dashboard, the steering wheel and the seat he was sitting on – that’s how quickly it happened.

 

“He was shook up but fair play to him, he was back on the road within a few hours,” he added.

 

David McCool, owner of Pets R Us, witnessed the fire. “It was a good job he stopped where he did because in the car park he would have been sitting in the middle of other cars and near shops.

 

“When I got over the van exploded. The tyres blew out, the back door blew out - it was good fun for a minute,” he said.

 

The Fire and Rescue Service and police quickly arrived on the scene and put the fire out and a Payne and Cooke employee had the van removed within 45 minutes of the fire starting.

 “Apparently it’s a common enough occurrence on the roads in England,” said the spokesman for Payne and Cooke.