THE owner of a car fled after their vehicle burst into flames on the M65.
Pumps from Burnley and Nelson tackled the fire on Wednesday afternoon between Junction 11 and 12 on the eastbound carriageway of the M65 The fire severely damaged the front passenger seat of the red Peugeot 307.
When crews attended the fire at 2.30pm the car was empty but alight. They believe that the fire was started by a discarded cigarette.
Watch manager Neil Ashworth said: "When we arrived there was no one with the vehicle and the fire had been going for about 10 minutes.
"Police attended and searched the area but couldn't find the owner anywhere. It was a bit strange.
"It looks like the fire was cause accidentally because we found a discarded cigarette."
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