A DRIVER had a narrow escape when his car burst into flames on the A31 between Farnham and Alton.

The male driver spotted smoke while driving his Vauxhall car westbound close to the Bentley slip road last Thursday around 3.30pm and immediately pulled into a lay-by.

And it proved to be a wise decision as the car caught fire, prompting a rapid response from firefighters who doused the blaze before it set light to nearby bushes left tinder-box dry by the prolonged heatwave.