EXCLUSIVE by Maggie Gibson PHOTOS: Barbara Sutton RESIDENTS of a March street watched in horror as flames from a burning car engulfed another vehicle and threatened to spread to nearby homes. The stolen car was left in the centre of the road in Hereward S

EXCLUSIVE by Maggie Gibson

PHOTOS: Barbara Sutton

RESIDENTS of a March street watched in horror as flames from a burning car engulfed another vehicle and threatened to spread to nearby homes.

The stolen car was left in the centre of the road in Hereward Street in the early hours of Sunday.

Police say the silver 'M' registration Fiesta had been reported stolen from nearby Kingsley Street.

Cambs Times editorial assistant Barbara Sutton was woken up around 4.30am by a noise outside her home.

She said: "I was aware of a noise outside. I thought it was someone trying to break in to my car.

"I looked out of the window and saw a car in the road on fire and rang 999. There was a whole row of parked cars and I told them they would all go up and it could easily spread to the houses."

By the time the fire service arrived a Rover 100 GSi belonging to Mrs Sutton's husband, Chris, was also in flames and three other cars had been damaged by the heat.

Mrs Sutton said: "It was just an inferno, if the fire brigade hadn't arrived when they did, three more cars would have gone up. The smoke was really thick and acrid.

"The heat was incredible. At one stage I thought the whole street was going to go up. The mindless morons who do these kinds of things don't give a thought to anyone else's property."

Two fire engines from March spent more than an hour at the scene and Cambridgeshire Council workmen attended to clear up the road.

Once Mr Sutton's car has been removed from the street, the badly damaged road surface which melted with the intense heat will have to be repaired.