A man managed to get his family and their Christmas presents out of a car in the nick of time before it went up in flames.

Crew members from Thames-side Fire Station were called to a vehicle blaze in Springhead Road, near the Northfleet branch of Sainsbury's shortly before midday on Christmas Day.

Thick black smoke could be seen with one passerby remarking on social media: "The car was completely engulfed in flames when I went past."

Firefighters attended and cleared the incident in just over an hour.

A member of the Kent Fire and Rescue Service crew confirmed the owner and his family got out the car safely before they arrived. There were no reported injuries.

The tale had a happy ending he added, with the owner managing to get the presents out of the boot in time.

The cause of the fire is not yet known but is not being treated as suspicious.

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