NEIGHBOURS watched on in horror as a Melksham family pushed a burning caravan off their driveway into the road minutes before it turned into a towering inferno.

At around 6.30pm on Friday (Apr 1) a caravan parked on the driveway of the Cleverley family in Rowan Court, a cul-de-sac off Hazelwood Road, caught fire by unknown means.

The raging inferno stood directly in front of the houses in the cul-de-sac spouting flames as high as twenty feet into the air with the smoke billowing high over Melksham’s skyline.

Neighbour Tony Box, 72, said: “There was terrible black smoke coming across the road blowing to the north.

“The smoke was some 100 or 200 feet up into the air. The flames when it really got going were up to the tops of the houses.

“It really was quite a horrendous sight. It made you realise being a caravan owner myself how vulnerable caravans are if something inside catches fire.

“It was a load of mess. I have never seen anything really like it.”

No one was hurt in the blaze but damage was done to adjacent properties cracking windows and burning the backs of several vehicles close by.

Two fire crews were called out from Trowbridge and Melksham, who had the fire extinguished by 7.15pm.

Mr Box, who lives in St Michael’s Road, said: “It has left the road burned and the tarmac has melted and will need to be repaired.

“The fire crews were very quick in getting here and got the fire out in a very short time.”

The Cleverley family spoke to the Wiltshire Times but decided not to comment on the incident.