A £15k Mazda 6 has been destroyed in a fire which sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky over Bournemouth.

More than 20 people called 999 to report the fire in Aylesbury Road, which was visible across the town.

Fire crews say the blaze was started by an electrical fault in a battery charger in the boot of the car - which was less than a year old - which combusted. 

Bournemouth Echo:

Picture by Mike Alan

The heat from the blaze was so intense it cracked a window of the nearby flats and the windscreen of a van parked behind.

Residents of nearby flats came out of the building but then had to be moved from the scene because of the nature of the smoke. 

Watch manager Darren Lowe, from Dorset Fire, said the cause of the fire was very unusual.  One fire crew from Springbourne is still on the scene, in Aylesbury Road. The road is closed in both directions. 

More follows.