Police car bursts into flames in road near Topcliffe

Image source, Sgt Paul Cording

Image caption, The patrol car was destroyed in minutes

Two police officers escaped unharmed after their patrol car burst into flames while responding to a 999 call.

The BMW caught fire on the A168 at Asenby near Topcliffe just after 17:30 BST on Saturday as officers were on their way to reports of a collision.

Sgt Paul Cording, from North Yorkshire Police, said the car "suffered a catastrophic engine failure".

The officers were not injured and returned to work hours later in a replacement vehicle.

Image source, Sgt Paul Cording

Image caption, The officers were responding to an emergency call when it happened

Sgt Paul Cording: "Lucky escape for my colleagues on the A168 at Asenby when their patrol car suffered a catastrophic engine failure on a blue light run."

Fire crews from Thirsk and Ripon put out the blaze.