A MOTORIST escaped with only minor injuries after his car burst into flames following an accident with a lorry.

The man, who was driving a Renault Clio, received minor burns, but was otherwise unhurt.

The driver of the red Castle Multicem lorry, which was carrying blocks of cement, suffered from shock.

The accident happened at about 9.50am yesterday on the A684 outside Park House Farm, at Winton Bank, North Yorkshire.

Both vehicles were coming from nearby Northallerton.

A fire brigade spokeswoman said: “The driver of the Clio suffered minor burns from the airbag – when they deploy if you have got your hand up against the steering wheel they can give you quite nasty burns.

“The lorry driver was suffering from shock. Neither of them were taken to hospital.”

The car was a write-off and the lorry was badly damaged.

Ian Austick, who lives at the farm, was with his son at the time the accident happened.

He said: “We went to the bottom of the drive and saw a wagon was across the road.

There was a car embedded in the side of the wagon and it was on fire. The wagon driver and the driver of the car got out. The car driver was very lucky to get out.”

The road was closed until 12.20pm while the vehicles were removed and the road cleared. Police are not investigating the incident.

The A684 has a reputation for the frequency and severity of accidents, some of which have been fatal.

Mr Austick said: “This guy was very lucky to get out, as he could have very easily been killed. It seems every couple of months there has been an accident on this stretch of road.”

He said he has experienced near-misses while people try to overtake him as he turns into his property. At other times, he has faced head-on collisions after pulling out and finding someone on the wrong side of the road. He called for safety measures to be introduced on the road.