AN investigation into a supermarket car park blaze which destroyed four cars is under way.

Firefighters were called to Asda in Walney Road on Tuesday morning after the store's alarm was triggered by the thick, black toxic smoke billowing out from the cars involved.

Station manager Paul Milburn and his team responded to the emergency calls and tackled the flames with four hose reels as they spread from one vehicle to another.

He said: "The investigation is still ongoing but I can say that the severity of the fire was from heat which radiated from the first car - because of the close proximity of the parked cars it was easily spread.

"There is lots of energy in a car fire so it makes extreme heat and it can spread quickly.

"Because of the initial response we got it under control quite quickly.

"Car fires are fairly rare thankfully but there is a lot of toxic smoke and combustibles."

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All four cars were empty during the incident and Mr Milburn confirmed no-one had been injured.

Crews were praised on social media for their brave response and swift actions and Mr Milburn advised against people trying to extinguish vehicle fires themselves in future.

He said: "It's really difficult to put out a vehicle fire because of the materials and the combustibles they're made from.

"Do not try and extinguish it yourself unless its very small and you have an extinguisher.

"If you are driving, stop safely, get out of the car and call the emergency services.

"It does make you think about fire safety and about whether or not you leave things in the car when you get out."

The fire chief also issued advice to motorists who might be concerned about their cars.

He added: "Maintain your vehicle as best you can and try and get electrical faults dealt with as soon as possible."