A woman and three children escaped from a car just before it burst into flames.

The group had stopped at traffic lights along Princes Avenue in Walderslade last night when the driver saw the smoke coming out from under the bonnet.

She got everyone out the car and within minutes the people carrier had become a fireball.

One fire engine from Medway was called at 8pm and firefighters took 30 minutes extinguishing the blaze, which was directly outside the Morrisons supermarket.

None of four from the car were injured.

One of the crew attending said: "It seemed to be an engine failure.

"The lady noticed the smoke and the engine had caught fire, which consumed the rest of the vehicle."

The fire is not considered to be suspicious.

The crew stayed for over an hour to oversee the safety of other road users, due to the position of the car on the road.

Princes Avenue was closed while the gutted vehicle was recovered.