A camper van fire caused over a mile long stretch of Belmont Road to be closed this morning.

A fire crew from Bolton North arrived at around 11.25am to an ‘intense’ fire caused by an electrical fault on the dash board of the Volkswagen camper van.

The male driver of the vehicle, who was in his 30s, noticed smoke coming out of the front of bonnet and parked into a lay-by.

He then attempted to drive off again but the amount of smoke pouring out of the vehicle continued to increase.

Bolton North Watch Manager Paul Norris: “By the time we got there it was quite an intense fire. We kept a safe distance of around 100 metres away from the fire initially."

He said the vehicle had been converted to run on liquid petroleum gas, which is cheaper than petrol but can be more flammable.

Mr Norris said that the conversion had been carried out professionally, and advised anyone who is considering converting their vehicle to seek expert advice, as it can be dangerous.

Police also attended the scene, and it took around ten minutes for the fire crews to put the blaze out.

The man was unhurt and did not require hospital treatment, and the road was closed for around 50 minutes.