Published at 08:09, Thursday, 12 April 2012

A blazing ambulance caused long delays on a main road in north Cumbria last night.

Paramedics had been on board the emergency vehicle at about 8.30pm yesterday when they suspected there was a problem.

They pulled over and managed to get out of the vehicle before it went up in flames on the A69 near Brampton.

The ambulance had not been responding to a 999 call and there were no patients on board at the time.

Two fire crews, from Carlisle and Brampton, were sent to the scene, where they spent two hours battling the fire.

No one was injured but the incident caused long delays on the A69.

Police officers, working in conjunction with the traffic unit and Highways Agency officials, were also on scene to deal with the queues of traffic in both directions.

The fire was extinguished and the ambulance moved by about 10.45pm.

It is not sure what caused the vehicle to catch alight but an electrical fault is suspected.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk