FIRE crews were called to Wareham after a car went up in flames this afternoon.

Firefighters tackled the blaze involving a Vauxhall Zafira following a call just after 3pm.

Police were also at the scene controlling traffic along Streche Road while the fire was dealt with.

Lawrence Christopher Mizen, who works at nearby Wareham Hospital, said he saw smoke coming from the car before flames began to “jump out”.

“It was around three to five minutes before the fire brigade turned up. A colleague of mine, who witnessed most of the fire, said the car’s tyres exploded and heard two loud bangs.”

The crew used breathing apparatus and two hose reels to extinguish the blaze.

In December 2015, Vauxhall recalled 226,000 Zafira B vehicles for an inspection after they were recorded bursting into flames.

Campaigners claim more than 300 Zafiras have caught fire in recent years, often leaving their occupants with just a few seconds to escape.

Some of the fires were serious enough to destroy entire vehicles.

Concerns that there was a distinctive pattern of fires were first raised within Vauxhall in 2014, but it did not begin an investigation until August 2015.

The manufacturer said the fires were caused by unauthorised repair of the thermal fuse in the people carrier’s blower resistor.

A damning report by the Commons’ Transport Select Committee said the manufacturer was too slow to begin a full investigation and then acted prematurely in attributing the problem to improper repairs by third parties.