FLAMES engulfed a car on the side of the A34 this morning as concerned motorists looked on. 

Images shared with the Oxford Mail show the fire taking hold of a vehicle on the southbound carriageway at the turn-off for Chilton. 

The incident happened at around 11am and one lane was closed causing traffic to slow in the surrounding area. 

Drivers stuck in the delays said they did not moved for 30 minutes with the road backed up between Abingdon and Newbury. 

An Oxford Mail reader who asked not to be named said: “It looked like an elderly couple and their car was totally on fire.

Oxford Mail:

“I was probably there five minutes after it happened.

“It is at the Chilton turning southbound carriageway and the car's just in the hard shoulder.

“The couple appeared to be ok, they were talking on the phone, but there were lots of flames.”

One lane was closed but had reopened by about midday, and congestion was starting to ease.

Separate incident caused delays

In an unrelated incident elsewhere on the A34, a crash caused delays for northbound traffic between Islip and Wendlebury this afternoon.

One lane was closed and congestion was particularly slow near Kidlington, but all delays have since cleared. 

Oxford Mail:

Traffic on the A34 at 1pm, shown on Google Maps