A couple who have only just moved into their new home got to meet most of their neighbours in quite spectacular fashion on Monday when their car went up in flames.

Tom Leadbeater, 36, and his partner, Emma Hartley, 34, were moving a futon and some paint into their semi-detached property in Hebden Road, Westwood, when Tom's Audi A6 caught fire.

He said: "When we got to the traffic lights at Rode I could hear the car misfiring and when I pulled up in the driveway there was a bit of smoke.

"I disconnected the battery and looked underneath and I could see flames coming from near the exhaust.

"I tried to get as much stuff as I could from out of the car but the smoke and the flames just got worse."

Within seconds, the vehicle had exploded and flames licked around the sofits on his double garage, damaging the plastic.

There were a series of loud bangs as various parts of the car exploded and thick black smoke billowed over neighbouring houses and gardens.

Within ten minutes, crews from Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge Fire Stations had arrived and used breathing apparatus and hose reel jets to extinguish the flames.

The couple moved to Westwood because it is mid-way between their respective workplaces - Tom works at Semley near Shaftesbury and Emma works in Bristol.

Mr Leadbeater said afterwards: "Everything is ok and the house is ok. Most of the stuff is ok and the rest of it can be dealt with.

"It's only a car and no-one got hurt. I'd like to thank the fire crews for arriving so quickly. It could have been a lot worse."

Bradford on Avon watch manager Stuart Williams said: "When we arrived the fire was well alight, which caused further fire damage to the house and the adjacent garage, and the car was completely destroyed."

The six-strong crew used two hose reels and two breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire.

Mr Williams added: "We managed a very quick response and the traffic was light which helped a lot. We had support from Trowbridge Fire Station."

Fire officers were later investigating the cause of the fire, which also partially damaged windows on the couple's new home.