A MAN from Basingstoke was yesterday fighting for his life after suffering 70 per cent burns in a car fire.

The 30-year-old man, from Oakridge, was found by emergency services who were alerted to the fire in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, at 10.45pm on Monday.

The man was standing by a burning Ford Fiesta in a rural layby when the police arrived, and officers managed to pull him away from the vehicle seconds before the fuel tank exploded.

Fire and ambulance crews also attended the scene, and the injured man was taken to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham where he was said to be in a critical condition.

Inspector Greg Saville from Kenilworth police station said: "The police officers did an excellent job. They put their own safety on the line to do what they did, as there was no doubt that, as they approached the burning car, it was likely to explode."

A police spokesman said the car had not crashed, there were no other vehicles involved, and that the fire is not being treated as suspicious.