A CABBIE had a lucky escape on Monday morning when his taxi burst into flames.

Ronald Oyston had just got out of his car and was talking to a friend in Darlington's Market Place when a fire started below his dashboard.

Shoppers watched as the flames cracked his windscreen and melted the dashboard.

Mr Oyston, 60, had a fire extinguisher in his boot and was able to put the flames out, but the car was still smouldering when the fire brigade arrived.

Mr Oyston said: "I was driving back from Middleton St George when I could smell burning, but I thought it was coming from outside. I opened the bonnet when I got to the Market Place and had a look, but I thought it would sort itself out.

"Then someone said 'your car's on fire' and there was flames coming up from behind the dashboard.

"I was lucky I had a little fire extinguisher or it could have been a big blaze."

Mr Oyston has had the nine-year-old Ford Mondeo since 1997. Fire investigators suspect the cause was an electrical fault.

Mr Oyston, who expects to be back at work tomorrow, said: "I don't like to think what would've happened if I'd been driving when it set on fire."