TRAIN services between Burnley and Blackburn were disrupted after a car was set alight under a railway bridge, raising fears it could collapse.

Firefighters were called to the scene around 7.30pm on Saturday after reports an Austin Maestro car had been abandoned and set alight under the steel girder bridge carrying the line over Cog Lane, Burnley.

The fire blackened the bridge, and the fire brigade and police were concerned that the heat from the blaze may have damaged it.

Signals along a stretch of the East Lancashire line were switched to red and a Railtrack bridge engineer was called in to check it.

The inspector found initial fears unfounded and gave it the all-clear, allowing services to return to normal after an hour.

PC Carl Bulcock, of the British Transport Police, said: "There were initial fears from Lancashire Police that the bridge could collapse. A bridge inspector was called in and he quickly established that the bridge was safe.

"The signals were set back to green at 8.30pm and services got back to normal. The disruption was minimal."

A check on the vehicle, which was gutted, found it had no registered owner.

The fire sent a large plume of smoke into the sky.

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