A NORTH-EAST couple told last night how vehicles exploded in a blazing car park as they ran to escape the scene on New Year's Eve.

Deborah Taylorson, 48, told how she and husband Mark, 44, of Aycliffe Village, were caught up in the drama, as a "large mushroom cloud of black smoke" enveloped the Liverpool dockland.

The huge fire destroyed about 1,400 vehicles in a multi-storey car park by the Liverpool Echo Arena – including Mrs Taylorson's prized Landrover Freelander – while the couple were at the Liverpool International Horse Show.

She told of the "utter chaos" as stewards in the arena at first told people to evacuate, then banned anyone from leaving the arena, as unfounded rumours began amongst audience members that the incident was terror-related.

The couple booked a train home online after realising they may not be able to get their car out of the car park – but staff prevented them from leaving the arena to catch it.

Eventually they had to leave quietly when they saw a side door open and ran to Liverpool Lime Street Station in time to catch their train back to Darlington.

Mrs Taylorson said: "When we looked at the car park there were flames lapping up the sides while there was a massive black mushroom of smoke filling the docklands.

"Then the cars in the multi-storey, like bombs because they were full of petrol and diesel, were just exploding and making these huge 'boom' sounds as they went off.

"The emergency services were great but the arena staff didn't seem to know what was going on.

"They initially said there was a small fire in the car park. Then they brought lots of the horses into the arena itself to keep them safe. We were left for a while with no information and they just seemed to keep changing their minds about whether we were being evacuated or had to stay inside. Two of the stewards were actually disagreeing about what to do.

"On top of that people started to murmur about it being a terror related incident. All I can say is that I am glad it wasn't because if it had been I don't know what the Arena would have done and how they could have coped with that."

Many others were stranded in the city overnight.

Witnesses described abandoning their vehicles, grabbing possessions and running for their lives after the blaze broke out in an old Land Rover and rapidly spread.

Yesterday the fire appeared to have been extinguished, leaving the charred remains of cars on the seven levels of the multi-storey car park.

There were no reported injuries but a shelter had been set up to look after many people who were unable to get home or get alternative accommodation.

The fire service said crews rescued two dogs from one of the vehicles and they are thought to have been the only animals in the car park at the time.

Merseyside Police said initial investigations indicated that an "accidental fire within a vehicle caused other cars to ignite".

A spokeswoman for the Echo Arena told The Northern Echo: "Customer safety is always of the utmost importance to us. We worked with the emergency services throughout the evening who worked tirelessly to bring the fire under control. We can confirm again that all people and horses are safe and there were no injuries during this terrible incident.

"We are extremely thankful to the emergency services for their efforts."

The Association of British Insurers said any driver whose vehicle has been damaged in the fire should get in touch with their insurance company.

A spokesman for Liverpool City Council said: "Our advice now is for people whose cars were inside to contact their insurance company to make a claim, quoting Merseyside Police log 650 on 31/12/17."