A MOTORIST fled the scene after their car burst into flames on a main road.

The yellow Volkswagen Beatle caught fire in Bolton Road West, Ramsbottom at about 1.40pm this afternoon.

The driver stopped the vehicle close to Hoysters restaurant and ran into Reed Rains estate agent to ask for a fire extinguisher.

But by the time firefighters arrived on the scene, he had disappeared and is still to be traced.

Steven Wilcock, watch manager at Bury fire station, said: "Without anybody being there to ask, our best guess is that the fire started in the engine bay.

"It was probably and electrical fault, which you do get from time to time. It's taken us about six or seven minutes to get on the scene, by which time the fire was quite well established."

Mr Wilcock added that the fire, which wrote off the car, was 'fairly straight forward' for the crew to put out.

"The road was closed for about half an hour, there was nothing too challenging , it was just a case of a bit of traffic disruption.

"There were a lot of people watching - it was quite a spectacle for a Sunday afternoon."

Police have confirmed they are investigation the incident.