People who witnessed a car going up in flames in the middle of a road said they saw two men jump out of the car.
Prescot Road in Old Swan was closed by police at around 11am today, February 2, after the vehicle caught fire close to the traffic lights outside Tesco.
Passers-by gathered around as police officers, who were reportedly attending the neighbouring Natwest bank, cleared the immediate area.
READ MORE: Car blaze sees police seal off major road
Jane Kinsella, of Emma's Bride and Groom, who witnessed the incident, said; "I was standing in the window, I saw the car pull up at the lights and one guy jumped out of the passenger seat. Next thing I knew, it went up in flames.
"I said 'my God!' and ran over. There was a huge crowd gathering all along the steps of Tesco, videoing and taking photographs."
Another witness, who did not want to be named, said: "They were slowing down because the lights were changing. It started with just a little flame. One of the men got out, then another man, and they both ran off. The flames had already started when they jumped and ran. There was no warning at all."
She described the two men as white, in their early 20s, and said they headed off towards the junction of Prescot Road, St Oswald's Street and Derby Road.
Alan Smith, of Old Swan Flooring, said: "There was a bit of a commotion going on so I went to the window and there was a car on fire.
"The traffic was all blocked off. The police at the security van waved the van off and blocked the road with the police car.
"The next thing, one of the wheels exploded and everybody jumped back."
The road remained closed until 12.40pm while fire crews attended and put out the blaze with a hose reel.
An ambulance attended, but was not required.
A spokesperson for Merseyside fire and rescue service said: "[The fire service] was called to Prescot Road, Old Swan, on Thursday, February 2, following reports of a car fire. Crews were alerted at 11am and on scene at 11.04am. One fire engine attended.
"On arrival crews found one car well alight on the roadway. Firefighters used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire. The incident was handed over to Merseyside Police and fire crews left the scene at 11.26am."
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "Just after 11am this morning (Thursday, February 2) officers on Prescot Road in Old Swan noticed a car on fire. No one was injured during the incident.
"Further reports and examinations at the scene have so far established that the fire was not caused deliberately at present. Emergency services remain at the scene to remove the vehicle."
They added "it was a non-suspicious fire... and as such we wouldn’t comment on it further."
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