A LORRY driver escaped a blaze which wrecked his cab -- after a passing ambulance crew flagged him down on a busy dual carriageway to tell him his vehicle was on fire.

The driver was travelling northbound on the A56 Accrington by-pass around noon yesterday and was unaware of the fire which have broken out underneath his cab.

But eagled-eyed Altham paramedic Mark Cox spotted the blaze as he overtook the wagon just north of Rising Bridge - and flagged it down, allowing the driver to escape unhurt.

The road was closed northbound for around two hours because of the large amount of smoke. Firefighters managed to stop the fire spreading to the wagon's trailer which was full of tree bark. The cab was destroyed, and the front of the trailer damaged.

Sub-officer Keith Cunliffe of Accrington fire station said: "The ambulance crew noticed the wagon was on fire as they overtook it, and they waved the driver down and called the fire brigade on their control system. The guy didn't realise it was on fire until he was pulled over."

The cab was so badly damaged that the cause of the fire is still unknown but firefighters believe it may have been an electrical fault.

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