FIREMEN dragged a man from his car after he turned it into a huge petrol bomb.

Tesco petrol station on Bury New Road in Prestwich was evacuated after the man poured petrol over himself and the roof of his car.

The man, in his 30s, drove his Ford Escort into the station last Friday, April 4, and filled four open-topped containers.

He poured some of the fuel over the roof of his car, and put the rest inside, before getting in and shutting the door.

The attendant alerted manager Andy Brown who came to investigate from the Tesco store.

He said: "As I walked past the car I noticed petrol on the floor. I switched everything off in the station, evacuated the area and alerted police."

Sub officer Ben Cartwright, of Broughton Fire Station, said: "The man was lying across the front seats of his car and after we talked to police and decided we would sort it out because of the risk of fire."

He and two colleagues approached the car armed with flash shield and two special hoses.

"Fortunately, the driver's door was unlocked so we opened it and talked to him. He was under the influence of the petrol vapours and made little sense.

"It was an horrific situation. The man appeared to be covered in petrol and the back footwell was an inch deep. We could also see four containers of petrol in the car.

"Although we couldn't see any means of lighting it we couldn't take any chances so we grabbed him and dragged him out.

"When we got him to a safe area police found a cigarette lighter under his arm. He might have tried to spark a fire but the air was very heavy with petrol fumes and that can sometimes make it more difficult."

The man was taken to North Manchester General Hospital suffering from the effects of inhaling petrol vapours. He was expected to be interviewed by police.

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